Heavy Japanese Investment In Carbon-Reduction Technologies - Asia Times

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TOKYO - Japanese businesses are on an investment spree of greenhouse-gas reduction projects abroad, especially in Asia, as the nation is in hot water over its target for slashing emissions of such gases under the Kyoto Protocol on global warming.

The "credits" these firms earn in return for gas-reduction investments in developing countries can be counted as cuts for their own emissions - and in turn, for Japan - under a system called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), one of the three so-called Kyoto mechanisms introduced under the protocol to help industrialized countries meet their reduction targets. Developing nations that take part can receive technology transfers from their industrialized partners.

The two other mechanisms are the Joint Implementation (JI) and international emissions trading. JI is a scheme similar to CDM but it covers gas-reduction projects in industrialized countries that can afford to cut more gases than required by the protocol, such as Russia and some former Soviet republics. In international emissions trading, greenhouse-gas emission credits are traded.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Environment Ministry have supported CDM projects conducted by Japanese companies and approved by the government. As of February 7, the government had approved a total of 41 CDM and JI projects since the end of 2002; almost all the approved projects are in the CDM category.

EDIT

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/HB16Dh01.html