Russia has notified Japan that it is willing to discuss Tokyo's proposal for joint implementation of energy-saving programs and trading of greenhouse gas "emission rights," which were provided for in the protocol adopted at a key global warming conference in Kyoto last December, government officials said April 7.
The issue will probably be put on the agenda of the April 18-19 informal summit between Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto and Russian President Boris Yeltsin, the officials said. During a bilateral meeting of officials in charge of energy policy, Japan proposed joint implementation of some energy-saving programs, including measures to improve the efficiency of obsolete power facilities and oil refineries in Russia.
As part of its efforts to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases such as carbon dioxide, Tokyo has also sounded out the possibility of trading emission rights between the two countries, the officials said. At an international energy-related meeting in Moscow earlier this month, Russia told a senior official of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry that the Russian government would discuss these proposals, according to the officials.
In a related move, Mitsuo Horiuchi, minister of international trade and industry, told a news conference April 7 that efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be included in the scope of bilateral economic cooperation between Japan and Russia.