Public Power - November 2008 - (Page 32)

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has urged Japanese citizens to view the transition to a low-carbon society as “a new opportunity for economic growth.” Photo source: Getty Images Japan Tackles the Kyoto Protocol 1998, the majority of the world’s nations signed the Kyoto Protocol. Under the terms of Kyoto, the developed countries of the world were obligated to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to 1990 emission levels or below. GHG emissions have been growing steadily for most developed countries and the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol require them not only to stop the growth of their emissions, but to actually reduce them. Meeting these emission requirements presented these countries with a significant challenge. What policies and mechanisms would help them reduce their emissions and meet their Kyoto obligations? For many countries, the preferred solution has been some form of a cap-and-trade system. Under cap-and-trade systems, policymakers set a limit on emissions and emission allowances equal to this limit are traded on the open market. By trading these emission allowances on the open market, a price is established. Businesses are required to purchase allowances equivalent to their amount of yearly emissions. This puts price pressure on emissions and 32 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2008 In BY RON KEITH should encourage businesses to pursue forms of energy that do not result in GHG emissions. Europe’s Emission Trading System is the world’s preeminent example of a cap-andtrade system. Australia is implementing its own cap-and-trade system, and even the United States—which signed, but never ratified, Kyoto—is considering a national cap-and-trade system. But what is the host country of the Kyoto Protocol doing? How is Japan meeting it Kyoto obligations? The Kyoto Protocol requires Japan to reduce its GHG emission to 6 percent below its 1990 levels. In 2002, the year Japan ratified the protocol, Japan emitted the equivalent of 1,330 metric tons of carbon dioxide. To comply with Kyoto, Japan would have to reduce its annual carbon dioxide emissions to 1,163 tons. Japan planned on meeting its Kyoto requirements in three ways. It would utilize Kyoto mechanisms to earn emission credits through GHG reduction projects in devel- oping countries and it would take advantage of carbon offsets gained by planting trees and creating green spaces within Japan. The bulk of Japan’s plan, though, relied on implementing society-wide changes aimed at reducing its carbon emissions. In 2002, the Japanese government adopted the New Climate Change Policy Programme, an action plan for achieving its emissions-reduction goals. The country launched aggressive energy conservation and energy efficiency campaigns, and encouraged the use alternative energy. Japan’s efforts to reduce its carbon emissions targeted four principle sectors of the economy: energy, transportation, agriculture and industrial processes. Policies and measures went beyond simply targeting specific sectors of the economy, however. The policies and measures reached into nearly every aspect of life in Japan. For instance, as part of the effort to encourage greater societal adoption of renewable energy, in 2003, the Japanese enacted a nationwide renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring that an increasing amount of the country’s electricity be proPUBLIC POWER

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public Power - November 2008

Public Power - November 2008 Contents Perspective 10 Questions Capturing Knowledge Before It Retires Jackson’s GIS Search Keeping a Job Journal Japan Tackles the Kyoto Protocol Getting to 20 by 10 Damless Hydro Power Earthquake: The Hidden Disaster For Engineers Safety For Governing Boards DEED Hometown Connections Parting Shot

Public Power - November 2008

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