JAPAN: ‘Green’ Foot Forward Ahead of Global Warming Talks

By Suvendrini Kakuchi Reprint | | Print |

Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO, Oct 24 1997 (IPS) - Buffeted by conflicting interests as host of December meeting aimed at addressing global warming, Japan is taking steps that its industrialists hope will ease some of the pressure Tokyo faces on the climate change issue.

The worst culprits in emitting greenhouse gases in Japan, industry has gone on the offensive in the run-up to a crucial meeting of parties to a United Nations convention on climate change in December in Kyoto.

Industry accounts for 75 percent of Japan’s emissions of greenhouse gases, while the household sector’s contributions stand at 9 percent.

Recently, industry houses have introduced several measures that will lead to reductions of up to 30 percent in emissions contributing to rapid global warming. Most of the emissions are of carbon dioxide produced by the combustion of oil and gas.

“It’s impossible to reduce greenhouse gasses drastically as people expect us to do at Kyoto,” an official of Nippon Steel Corporation pointed out.

“But that does not mean Japanese industry is not concerned about the situation. Many major companies have already or are planning crucial steps to reduce polluting gasses,” the official said.


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