reduction roadmap based on INDC targets and countermeasures for China, Japan,
and South Korea.
2.2 Economic Prospects in China, Japan, and South Korea
China, Japan, and South Korea have experienced rapid economic development since
the twentieth century. However, after 1990, rates of development in Japan and South
Korea slowed and were particularly affected by two financial crises (Fig. 2.3).
Although the growth rate in China was also affected by these crises, it remained
positive (Fig. 2.4). In 1999, China’s gross domestic product (GDP) purchasing
power parity (PPP) surpassed that of Japan for the first time and has been the highest
of the three nations since. Except for a negative growth rate in 1998 in South Korea,
the growth rates in China, South Korea, and Japan are generally at high, medium,
and low levels, respectively, which corresponds with the developmental stage of
each country.
The development trajectories of China, Japan, and South Korea show three
similar curves; that of China currently resembles the historical trajectory of Japan
and South Korea. However, after more than 30 years of rapid growth, China remains
in the early stages of development, and labor productivity is low (Fig. 2.5); high
Developing
Countries
United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)
Semi-Developed
Countries
Developed
Countries
G77 plus China
EU
United States
Japan, Canada, New
Zealand, Australia etc.
South
Korea, Mexico
Transition
economies
North-South Dialogue
North
South
South–South cooperation
Least developed
countries (LDCs)
Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC)
BRICs
Brazil, Russia, India, China
Alliance of Small
Island States
(AOSIS)
Fig. 2.2 Position of the focal countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). Source: Qian (2012)
2 Climate Change Strategy and Emission Reduction Roadmap for China, Japan, and. . .
39