Environmental Leader

Tokyo is the first city in Japan to pass legislation that, by fall of 2010, will require a cap-and-trade scheme for emissions from 1,300 of the biggest polluters there that are responsible for 20 percent of emissions in the capital city, AFP reports.

The bill will help Tokyo achieve its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by fiscal year 2020, said Satoshi Yamashita, a director at Tokyo’s environmental policy planning section. Tokyo’s GHG emissions totaled around 60 million tons in 2005, or around five percent of the country’s total emissions.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda unveiled plans earlier this month for an experimental carbon trading system later this year and said Japan would slash greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 percent by 2050 but failed to set a mid-term target.

Companies that fail to comply with the new scheme face charges of 500,000 yen ($4,630), or the costs of emissions trades that will be conducted for them, Yamashita said.

The finance ministry said last year that Japan needed to implement measures to lower greenhouse gas emissions in order to meet Kyoto targets and avoid a bill of as much as $10.5 billion.

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