A Japanese emissions market?
The FT reports that a group of businessmen from Kansai, Japan, are considering the launch of a formal market for carbon emissions rights.
“If the plan comes to fruition, it could turn Japan into an important centre for international emissions trading within Asia-Pacific, should the market take off in the region in the future.
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A trading system for emission rights could also help to erase Japan’s reputation as the laggard in innovation among the world’s largest financial markets.
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Emissions trading is also “part of a bigger picture”, Noriko Mimura , an official at the Kansai Economic Federation, a group of local businesses, told the Financial Times. “Our aim is how we can vitalise financial markets in Kansai” - a region centred on Osaka.
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Sceptics say much depends on whether the Japanese government decides to introduce a compulsory system for emissions trading, as exists in the EU. The Japanese government has set up a voluntary system and is reluctant to switch to a compulsory one.”