When Russian President Vladimir Putin put the finishing touches on his country's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on Friday, reducing greenhouse gas emissions also moved one notch higher on Japan's policy agenda.
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol on curbing greenhouse gas emissions needed the ratification of industrialized nations that together accounted for at least 55 percent of emissions of developed countries in 1990. The participation of Russia, whose emissions accounted for 17.4 percent of the total, paves the way for the pact to take effect in February.
Japan will now have to redouble its efforts to meet its pledge of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2008-2012. This is becoming an increasingly tall order to fill, as emission levels in fiscal 2002 were 7.6 percent higher than in 1990.