GOVERNMENT departments in Japan are still wrestling with details of
the country’s long-awaited action plan to cut emissions of the greenhouse
gases carbon dioxide and methane. The cabinet is due to approve the plan
this week to preempt criticism at the forthcoming international conference
on global warming in Geneva later this month.
However, officials have failed to specify a target for the lowering
of emissions of carbon dioxide over the next decade. Government sources
suggest that the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is resisting
pressure from the Environment Agency to adopt ambitious targets. Though
less powerful, the environment agency may win the battle with MITI if it
earns the support of the Prime Minister, Toshiki Kaifu, who is anxious to
rescue his country’s increasingly dismal image on environmental issues.
