Columbia International Affairs Online: Policy Briefs

CIAO DATE: 07/2009

Climate sudoku: Japan's bumpy ride towars a post-2012 target

Alexandru Luta

June 2009

Finnish Institute for International Affairs

Abstract

Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan has pledged to reduce its GHG emissions during the first commitment period by 6% relative to 1990. However, Japan’s national GHG inventory indicates that emission levels for 2007, the latest year for which official estimates are currently available, have reached 1.374 billion tons of CO2 equivalent, representing a 9% increase relative to the base year.