Japan acts on Kyoto pledge

in a bid to meet carbon dioxide emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan has taken up a project to repair thermal power plants in Kazakhstan. This is Japan's first agreement under the clean development mechanism (cdm) within the Kyoto Protocol. cdm allows industrialised nations to invest in environment-friendly energy projects sited in developing countries. As a part of the swap deal, developed countries get clean air credits.

New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (nedo), a semi-governmental organisation under the Japanese ministry has inked the pact with Kazakhstan. This agreement will help reduce 62,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from these plants.

Under the protocol, industrialised nations must cut emissions of greenhouse gases (ghg) by an average of five per cent from 2008 to 2012 as compared to 1990 levels. Japan pledged to reduce its emissions by six per cent. But as Japan accounted for nearly 8.5 per cent of the total global emissions of ghg in 1990, the Kazakhstan agreement would only contribute a small share towards this percentage.