Japan mulls expanding green business market

Japan aims to expand the "green business" market and create up to one million new jobs, the environment ministry said yesterday, to simultaneously fight climate change and boost the economy amid a global downturn.

Some world leaders have been calling for job creation through tax breaks and extra public spending to promote energy efficiency, mitigate carbon emissions and develop renewable power sources.

"The worldwide trend is to kill two birds with one stone by investing in action against global warming and linking that to taking care of both the environment and the economy," said Ichiro Sumikura, an environment ministry official.

"We want to take the initiative and build a leading low-carbon society while stepping out of recession before anyone else in the world."

Japan's greenhouse gas emissions rose to a record high in the year to March last year, putting it at risk of missing its Kyoto Protocol target of cutting emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases to six per cent below 1990 levels from last year to 2012.

The country had planned to expand its market for environmentally friendly businesses by 2020, hiring 2.2 million workers and boosting its value to €740 billion, Mr Sumikura said.

But Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito told Prime Minister Taro Aso earlier this week that the ministry may bring forward the target year, he said, although he did not say by how much.

Domestic media said the target year may be moved to 2015.

At present this market, which includes renewable energy firms and makers of energy-efficient household electronics, employs some 1.4 million people and is worth about €551 billion, a report from the environment ministry showed.

To boost the market, the ministry is considering taking measures such as setting up zero-interest rate loans for environmentally friendly companies, the report added.