+------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Japan to Subsidize Studies for Carbon-Offset Projects (Update1)
2010-08-10 09:12:38.982 GMT
(Adds details of projects in fourth paragraph.)
By Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada
Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Toshiba Corp., Tokyo Electric Power
Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. are among 15 Japanese companies
selected by the government to carry out feasibility studies for
pollution-cutting projects to earn carbon credits overseas.
The government will provide about 500 million yen ($6
million) for research into projects aimed at exporting low-
carbon technology to developing countries, the trade ministry
said in a statement released in Tokyo today.
The move comes amid concerns about the possible end of the
United Nations-brokered Clean Development Mechanism, by which
rich countries offset their own pollution by investing in
projects that reduce emissions in poor countries. Japan will
seek bilateral agreements to earn credits to help it reach its
2020 emissions targets, said Keisuke Murakami, director of
global environmental affairs at the trade ministry.
Japan plans projects in nine developing countries and has
started talks with Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and India
for bilateral agreements on a carbon-offset mechanism, according
to today's statement.
Toshiba and Mitsubishi are planning work on geothermal
plants in the Philippines and in Indonesia. Nippon Steel Corp.
has proposed adding energy-conservation technology at a steel
plant in India.
Tokyo Electric is considering building an efficient coal-
fired power plant in Indonesia, which could produce 500,000
metric tons a year less carbon dioxide for a 600-megawatt
generator than an equivalent conventional plant.
Japan has pledged to cut emissions of gases blamed for
global warming by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020. UN-
sponsored talks for a global climate agreement to replace the
Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, have stalled.
For Related News and Information:
Top Renewable Energy Stories: GREEN <GO>
Clean Development Mechanism Projects: CDM <GO>
--Editors: Alex Devine, Jane Lee.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Tsuyoshi Inajima in Tokyo at +81-3-3201-2059 or
tinajima@bloomberg.net;
Yuji Okada in Tokyo at +81-3-3201-2493 or
yokada6@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash in Singapore at +65-6212-1167 or
aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
