 |
 |
 |
CO2 emissions have been increasing
in Japan, and if no measures are taken, it will be impossible to attain the
goals of the "Action Program to Arrest Global Warming". CO. emissions caused
by the transportation sector currently account for about 20% of total CO, emissions
in Japan, and are steadily increasing.
In light of this situation, the Council for Transport Policy has formulated
a report entitled "Addressing the Problems of Global Warming in Transport Sector"
in April 1997. The Council's report prioritized the following four measures
for short and medium terms to be implemented by the Ministry of Transport:
| (i) | Promoting technological development of energy saving, low-fuel consumption cars and providing economic incentives for environmentally friendly car ownership through a reform of the automobile-related tax system | |
| (ii) | Promoting eco-driving (raising the general awareness of the need to conserve energy) | |
| (iii) | Promoting and further improvement of the use of public transportation systems and further improvement of them | |
| (iv) | Promoting more efficient logistics by utilizing the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) to improve truck transport efficiency |
Regarding the introduction of carbon taxes, the report cites
the importance of a national debate on this issue. Furthermore, the Council
states that the introduction of additional taxes or surcharges on the transportation
sector should be fully studied as one of the possible options.
In the long term, in addition to specific measures such as the promotion
of low-fuel consumption cars, the development of ZEV (zero-emission vehicles)
and realization of smoother road traffic through the deployment of ITS, the
Council points out that it is paramount for measures to be promoted that will
ensure mobility, while at the same time reduce the excessive dependence on cars.
In addition to the global warming issue, there is a wide range of global environment issues that must be addressed, including the depletion of the ozone layer and oil spills and other causes of marine pollution. There are also regional problems such as air pollution and noise pollution caused by various transportation facilities, the need to secure areas of land for the final disposal of waste, and abandoned ships and yachts. The Ministry of Transport, with the goal of establishing an environmentally friendly transportation sys-tem, will continue to actively address these challenges.
|
|
|