Ministry Considers Trading System for Discharge from Sewerage Works

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport has been considering the introduction of a trading system for discharge from sewerage works, as an economic measure to reduce the amount of pollutants released in effluent.

In fiscal 2002, the Ministry developed an emissions trading model to assess the impact of sewage discharged into Tokyo Bay basin. To reduce the amounts of water pollutants discharged, the Ministry set reduction targets for the local governments that actually manage sewage plants, while examining a model for a trading market in pollutant emissions. The pilot study showed that the cost of cutting the discharge of pollutants in effluent cost can be reduced by up to about 10 percent by utilizing market mechanisms, compared to an approach that does not use such mechanisms.

The Ministry will discuss both the potential coverage and environmental standards under such as system. In addition, it is exploring various aspects of the potential design of the system, including a policy mix with other economic or regulatory means, as well as ways to manage the funds that would arise from the trading system.



Posted: 2003/06/11 08:48:32 AM
Japanese version