TOKYO, Apr 28, 2005 (Kyodo via COMTEX) — The Japanese government adopted Thursday a set of measures to cut emissions of greenhouse gases in a bid to fulfill its Kyoto Protocol obligation of reducing emissions by 6 percent from the 1990 level by 2012.
As part of the government’s anti-global warming efforts, Cabinet members also agreed they and all government employees will generally dress lightly — without jackets and neckties — in the summertime, officials said.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi issued a statement saying the government’s package of measures was “the first step” toward fulfilling Japan’s goal under the Kyoto Protocol and urging cooperation from local governments, businesses and the general public.
“It is by no means easy to fulfill our country’s reduction target, but we will lead other countries around the world in proceeding with anti-global warming measures,” Koizumi said. The package calls on businesses and citizens to switch to energy-saving appliances and urges the central government to promote the use of fuel cells and solar energy, the officials said.
It calls on government ministries to draft their own energy-saving plans by June.
But analysts say it may be difficult for Japan to attain its target because it would have to cut emissions of carbon dioxide — which accounts for more than 90 percent of the overall greenhouse gas emissions — by nearly 10 percent by fiscal 2010 from the fiscal 2002 level.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is required to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions between 2008 and 2012 by 6 percent from the level in the base year of 1990.
The Cabinet members agreed at an informal meeting Thursday morning that starting this year, they and all government workers will from June 1 to Sept. 30, work without jackets or neckties, except for formal events such as meeting foreign dignitaries, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.
“This is an expression of our strong determination to make sure we attain the Kyoto Protocol goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 6 percent,” Hosoda told a press conference. On whether Cabinet members and government officials will appear in Diet sessions in light attire, the top government spokesman said the matter will be discussed with the parliament. Koizumi, who declared last month at a meeting on tackling global warming that the government will go without neckties or jackets in the summer, apparently reconfirmed his intention with other Cabinet members Thursday.
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted at a U.N. conference in Kyoto in 1997, entered into force Feb. 17.
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