Japan's first carbon credit trade
Marubeni, a Japanese trading company has sold 10,000 tons worth of greenhouse gas emission rights to another company. This is Japan's first major case of carbon-credit trading. NHK World explains that carbon trading allows companies that surpass their emission-cut target to sell that excess cut. They are using an Internet-based system providing information about companies' emission rights:
Marubeni Corporation used the Web site to sell 10,000 tons worth of carbon dioxide emission rights to a domestic power company. Marubeni acquired the emission rights by funding a South Korean chemical plant's reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-credit trading is becoming an increasingly popular method for achieving emission-cut targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
Marubeni Corporation used the Web site to sell 10,000 tons worth of carbon dioxide emission rights to a domestic power company. Marubeni acquired the emission rights by funding a South Korean chemical plant's reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon-credit trading is becoming an increasingly popular method for achieving emission-cut targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
Comments
What the carbon trading mechanism can achieve is similar to a tax. It means companies can invest in other projects, such as planting trees or helping other companies reduce their emissions. This is really helpful for getting companies in Europe to invest in developing country projects.
OK, a corporate tax would also achieve that, but how do you get companies to agree to that?
Another point is that we need strong environmental NGOs to act as watchdogs and actually keep pushing companies to go ahead and "walk the talk". Japan has some way to go in that respect.
It seems preferable that governments, not just NGO's would watchdog industrial pollution, but so far they don't seem to be doing enough. I guess the business lobby is too powerful for them to tackle. Hope that changes as people demand more action on the environment.
By the way, thanks for so many informative articles lately.I'm trying to catch up in reading them. :)