Tokyo Joins ICAP as Member

Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara announced on May 27, 2009, that the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) participated in the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) on May 26, as the first local government to join it as well as the first participant in Asia.

ICAP is a partnership made up of governments and public authorities that have implemented carbon markets through mandatory cap and trade systems, and includes members from leading countries of the European Union and major states of the U.S. The partnership provides a forum to share experiences and exchange professional discussions and opinions about planning carbon dioxide emissions trading systems.

With its own aggressive goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent from 2000 levels by 2020, the TMG decided to introduce a mandatory cap and trade system to realize a large cut in emissions, which developed countries are expected to achieve in the long and medium terms. The target of the system is not only industrial sector big businesses, such as power plants and large factories, but also commercial sector small and medium businesses, such as office buildings.

Ahead of launching of carbon trades in 2010, the TMG is planning to hold a workshop "Tokyo Workshop 2009 on Urban Cap & Trade Towards a Low Carbon Metropolis (see the website below)" on September 3, 2009, and has declared its intentions to maintain a leading role in cutting emissions in Japan.

Tokyo Takes the Lead in Climate Change Mitigation Measures in Japan No.68 (April 2008)
http://www.japanfs.org/en/mailmagazine/newsletter/pages/
027949.html
Tokyo Metropolitan Government official website
http://www.metro.tokyo.jp/ENGLISH/index.htm
Tokyo Workshop 2009 on Urban Cap & Trade Towards a Low Carbon Metropolis
http://www2.kankyo.metro.tokyo.jp/sgw/tokyoets_ws_en.htm
ICAP
http://www.icapcarbonaction.com/

Posted: 2009/08/08 06:00:15 AM