Japan adopted a set of measures Thursday to cut emissions of greenhouse gases in a bid to fulfill its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, government officials said.
The package calls on the public and private sectors to switch to energy-saving appliances, and urges the government to promote the use of fuel cells and solar energy, they said.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is obliged to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions between 2008 and 2012 by 6 percent from the level recorded in the base year of 1990.
Analysts say Japan would have to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, which accounts for more than 90 percent of overall greenhouse gases, by about 10 percent in fiscal 2010 from the fiscal 2002 level to fulfill this obligation.
The government has received about 1,900 opinions from environmental and business groups since late March, when it released a draft for the measures.
The draft primarily covers three topics -- the introduction of an environmental tax on fossil fuels, the promotion of nuclear power generation, and how to utilize the mechanisms stipulated under the Kyoto Protocol.
Since opinions on the proposals were sharply split, the government decided not to change the wording referring to them in the draft, an official at the Environment Ministry said.
But the government revised action plans by ministries and agencies envisaged in the draft to fight global warming.
Under the package, government ministries have been asked to draft their own energy-saving plans by June.