Japan Will Meet GHG Targets By Buying Emissions

TOKYO − "Japan's government said Monday it will try to meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions promised under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming by purchasing the right to pollute from Japanese companies.

The protocol commits 55 industrialized nations to make significant cuts in emissions of gases like carbon dioxide by 2012. Following Russia's endorsement on Thursday, the treaty can go into effect next year.

Tokyo, one of the treaty's biggest supporters, has pledged a 6 percent cut in emissions of greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere and are thought to be a chief cause of global warming. But without major policy changes, Japan's emissions are expected to continue rising.

On Monday, the Environment Ministry said Tokyo plans to buy the rights to emit about 19 million tons of pollutants -- or roughly 1.6 percent of the country's total annual emissions -- from companies beginning in 2006. Details will be worked out by a panel formed later this year, the ministry said."

EDIT

http://www.enn.com/today.html?id=331

Could be a busy and profitable market. Shame US companies won't be able to play . . .