A little more than 50 percent of 389 of the nation's leading companies have calculated their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a survey released on Monday.
About 55 percent said they have developed a plan or belong to an industry body that plans to pare the release of such gases.
The survey was independently conducted by the office of House of Representatives member Kenichi Mizuno, a member of a Liberal Democratic Party panel on environmental policy. The results indicate that the current law for preventing global warming is inadequate, Mizuno said.
The global warming prevention law calls on firms to devise plans to cut greenhouse gases.
The poll targeted 1488 firms, of which 26.1 percent responded.
More than 80 percent of respondents -- all listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's first section -- said they were aware of the Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with Global Warming, while 52.7 percent of the companies said they have compiled figures regarding their greenhouse gas emissions. Of companies responding, 55.8 percent said they have a plan or fall under an industrywide plan to cut emissions.
"Many companies have not calculated their greenhouse gas emissions, but this is a precondition for reducing them," said Mizuno, adding that companies over a certain size should be required to calculate their emissions, come up with a plan to reduce them and publicize the information.
The LDP is to set up a project team to look into the revision of the global warming prevention law in the near future.