Japan's greenhouse gas emissions will rise by 0.9 percent in the fiscal year ending in March 2011 from levels in 1990, clouding its prospects of meeting its Kyoto Protocol target, a newspaper said on Wednesday. While emissions from industry are expected to fall by 9 percent, those from households are likely to rise 13-16 percent and from offices by 29-31 percent, the Nikkei business daily said, citing a government report due out this week.

The figures mean Japan's emissions are likely to rise 0.9-2.1 percent from 1990, requiring it to cut emissions by more than an additional 20 million tonnes to meet its Kyoto Protocol target, the newspaper said. Japan has a target under the Kyoto Protocol to cut its emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels in the 2008-2012 period.

A trade ministry official could not comment on the figures, but said a government report would be released on Friday. Japan has vowed to meet its Kyoto targets, although its emissions were 14 percent above the goal as of March 2006. The government has floated the idea of industry energy-saving benchmarks, but business groups have dragged their feet on previous energy proposals, such as a carbon tax, out of concern for their economic impact.

Japan is now looking keenly at households, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe saying in a newspaper interview earlier this year that one of the main short-term goals was making citizens more aware of the issue. Abe has proposed a global target to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and has said Japan would support developing countries committed to cutting emissions with a new form of financial aid.
(Planet Ark, 09/08/2007)