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FACTBOX-How Japan plans to meet Kyoto emissions-cut goal

17 Nov 2008 07:50:27 GMT
Source: Reuters

Nov 17 (Reuters) - The Japan Bank for International Cooperation on Monday officially launched an online notice board to alert Japanese investors to overseas carbon offset projects. [ID:nT280073]

The website aims to give investors in Japan, including utilities, access to a wider market for early stage investments in clean energy projects which generate carbon offsets under the U.N.-led Kyoto Protocol.

The Japanese government and big companies have been active in buying offsets to help the world's fifth-biggest polluter meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction target under Kyoto.

Japan's greenhouse gas emissions rose to a record high in the year to March, putting the country at risk of an embarrassing failure to achieve its Kyoto target over the next four years.

Under the pact, Japan must cut its emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases to 6 percent below 1990 levels between 2008-12.

For a graphic of Japan's CO2 emissions, click on:

https://customers.reuters.com/d/graphics/JP_CO2121108.gif

Japan aims to cut emissions to meet its commitments under the Kyoto climate pact in two ways.

The government plans more forest conservation at home while investing in clean energy projects abroad, which generates credits to offset emissions.

The other step is to seek voluntary pledges on emissions cuts by major industry sectors, including electricity generators and steel makers.

Unlike the European Union, Japan has been reluctant to impose a mandatory cap on companies' emissions because of past efforts by industry to conserve energy.

Following is a rough guide to measures being implemented by Japan to cut CO2-equivalent emissions (per year, average).

The electric power industry has a voluntary target to reduce CO2 emissions to 0.34 kg per kilowatt hour.

But their emissions for the year ended in March averaged 0.45 kg per kilowatt hour, which means the sector still has to reduce emissions by around 100 million tonnes a year, based on the sector's estimated power generation of 931 billion kilowatt hours a year between 2008/09 and 2012/13.

The halting of electricity production at Tokyo Electric Power Co's <9501.T> Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world's largest, following a July 2007 earthquake raises the electric power sector's CO2 emissions by 30 million tonnes a year, according to the company's calculation, by boosting the use of coal and other fossil fuels.

The steel industry said recently it had stepped up buying of U.N. carbon offsets to help meet the sector's voluntarily pledged emissions target. [ID:nT139840]

Based on the figures for 2007/08, the aim is to cut national emissions by 185 million tonnes per year to meet the Kyoto target. Cuts will come from:

Public sector

- Forest conservation - 48 million tonnes

- *Kyoto mechanism - 20 million tonnes

Private sector

- Electric power - about 100 million tonnes, including

38 million tonnes via *Kyoto

mechanism

- Steel - about 15 million tonnes, including

12 million tonnes via *Kyoto

mechanism

- remaining emission cuts are up to other industrial sectors and households.

* The Kyoto mechanism refers to a United Nations scheme which allows rich nation polluters to fund emission cuts in poorer or former communist countries and put them towards domestic carbon reduction targets or sell them for a profit. (Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

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