Japan to reinforce voluntary emissions cut to achieve Kyoto target
For Personal Use Only
TOKYO, Feb. 29 Kyodo - The Japanese government decided Friday to urge the industrial and other sectors to increase voluntary efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to attain Japan’s emissions cut goal under the Kyoto Protocol and ‘’strictly'’ check the progress twice a year, government officials said. In a reviewed plan on measures to achieve the Kyoto target, which Japan is expected to fall short of under existing measures, the government said creating an emissions trading program in the country and imposing environment taxes should ‘’be comprehensively considered.'’ At Friday’s meeting of the Global Warming Prevention Headquarters, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said it is ‘’essential to achieve the 6-percent reduction target for Japan to exercise its leadership'’ at July’s Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido, the officials said.
The Cabinet will officially endorse the reviewed plan by the end of March after hearing opinions from the public, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said. Environmental groups and experts question the effectiveness of reinforcing voluntary efforts in the industrial sector, which the government largely relies on to reduce emissions. The government has been reviewing its target achievement plan, given the difficulty in attaining the Kyoto goal that requires Japan to cut emissions an average 6 percent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Japan is expected to fall short of its reduction target by up to 2.8 percentage points under existing measures in fiscal 2010. Additional measures include reinforcing voluntary action plans, improving the energy efficiency of houses and other buildings, and improving the fuel efficiency of cars. The government says it can achieve the 6 percent target under the reviewed plan by attaining in fiscal 2010 a cut of 0.8-1.8 percent through existing and additional measures, and 5.4 percent through acquiring emissions credits from overseas and forest absorption. The government will also ‘’strictly'’ check the progress of each measure in around June and December. In fiscal 2009, the government will estimate the total amount of emissions between fiscal 2008 and 2012, and, if deemed necessary, review the target achievement plan. Japanese emissions increased by 6.4 percent to about 1.34 billion tons in fiscal 2006, which ended March 31, 2007, from 1.26 billion tons in the base year of fiscal 1990. ==Kyodo 2008-02-29 19:46:37
Filed by Colum Grove-White under Climate Change