Japanese companies are stepping up preparations, such as trial runs to make employees familiar with carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading, ahead of the implementation in February of the Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming, industry and government officials said Friday.
Nov. 5—TOKYO — Japanese companies are stepping up preparations, such as trial runs to make employees familiar with carbon dioxide (CO2) emission trading, ahead of the implementation in February of the Kyoto Protocol on curbing global warming, industry and government officials said Friday.
Sumitomo Corp. has set up a section to specialize in trading rights for CO2 emissions, while Mitsubishi Corp. has founded a company that will serve as a go-between for buyers and sellers of CO2 reductions.
Mitsui & Co., another major trading house, has purchased a stake in a major U.S. broker of emission trading.
Among other companies, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. has begun in-house trial runs of trading involving offices and plants to make employees familiar with complicated trading methods.
Preparations for the protocol, which also includes the development of energy-saving motor vehicles and other products, are accelerating as Russia's ratification has paved the way for its implementation in February.
A senior official of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Japan will try to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets under the 1997 protocol by promoting the development of energy-saving products and contributing to the overseas construction of energy-efficient production and power-generation facilities with advanced technologies owned by Japanese companies.
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