Japan and U.S. to Launch Greenhouse Satellites; Different Missions?

Sherri Siegele

Today, Japan launched a satellite named Gosat (Global Greenhouse Observation by Satellite) that will orbit the earth for five years collecting data about greenhouse gasses and the earth’s climate change. The United States intends to launch its own satellite in February of 2009 called the OCO (Orbiting Carbon Observatory). Both are attacking the same problems but with different end-goals. The atmosphere absorbs 50% of carbon emission while the earth’s sinks (forests & oceans) absorbs the other half. In addition, a project collaborator from the University of Edinburgh claims there is a large missing sink. Both satellites are intended to measure emission output and to locate and quantify the CO2 sinks. According to the article the two countries have different goals. The U.S.’s main goal is to locate the CO2 sinks but Japan’s main goal is to enforce treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol through its findings.

I’m sure there are many possibilities at play but here’s one theory. Let’s start with the fact that Japan’s goal is adherence to treaties and the U.S. is in breach because it won’t ratify the Kyoto treaty. The knowledge Japan will gain from the satellite should also bring power. As a response to Japan’s satellite the U.S. may have felt it necessary to have its own set of data giving it just as much power as Japan. Additionally, regardless of how it all started, it’s possible that Japan and the U.S. will act as silent allies intending to put collective pressure on China. Japan’s self-interested is its economy and nearness to the world’s largest carbon emission output; China. The U.S.’s self-interest is that it wants China as part of Kyoto so it can ratify its own membership without doing economic harm to the U.S. With new information from these satellites Japan and the U.S. will have the ability to do a sound global campaign rallying other countries to pressure China into some degree of accountability for emissions output. Time will tell!