Top News 5 Page  1   2    With the Kyoto Protocol Entering into Force in Early 2005, Argument over the Introduction of an Environment Tax Is Reignited; While Industrial Circles Remain Opposed, the Introduction of this New Tax Seems More Likely   | FEB. 1. 2005 |    Up to now, the industrial circle has been adamantly opposed to the introduction of an environment tax in Japan. However, now that it has been decided that the Kyoto Protocol will be entering into force, the establishment of this new tax in Japan seems more likely.    The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that saddles developed countries with targets for the reduction of the emission of greenhouse gasses, such as carbon dioxide, in order to decrease the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted on a global scale. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997. Prior to this, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 through which countries around the globe decided to cooperate in order to reduce global warming. This treaty, however, did not specify any concrete targets, and the Kyoto Protocol was adopted to establish quantitative targets by listing which countries would reduce greenhouse gas emissions, by when and by how much.    With the United States pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol, it was in danger of not entering into force. However, Russia's State Duma (upper and lower house of parliament) passed a bill in October 2004 to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and the Kyoto Protocol will be entering into force on February 16, 2005. Once this happens, Japan will be obligated to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in the 2008 to 2012 period by 6 percent, as compared to a baseline year of 1990. Because the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Japan is now already 5 percent greater than in 1990, the actual amount that will need to be reduced from the 1990 level will be 11 percent. The increase in the amount of emissions is attributable to such causes as the rise in the amount emitted through industrial activities resulting from a growth in the amount of production, as well as greater emissions by households and distribution industries as a whole.    The amount of greenhouse gasses emitted by developed nations is increasing across the board. However, with coal the primary energy source in many European nations, the EU will be able to reduce a great amount of their greenhouse gas emissions (without decreasing the amount of energy consumed) by shifting their energy source to natural gas. Japan, however, has already implemented measures to shift the types of fuel used and will have no choice but to substantially decrease the amount of energy consumed. Among those countries that ratified the Kyoto Protocol, Japan is in under the most difficult of circumstances in terms of achieving its quantitative target.    That is why the environment tax emerged as one of the measures to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Under this taxation system, a tax would be levied on oil and other sources of greenhouse gasses in a move to curb the amount consumed. The amount of the tax would be decided according to the carbon content of the fuel.