Thu 11 Dec 2008 – Both All Nippon Airways (ANA) and the JAL Group have announced they will join in trials of Japan’s domestic voluntary emissions trading scheme, JVETS, which started in fiscal 2008 and runs through until 31 March 2012. JAL Group’s domestic airlines, which comprise Japan Airlines and six other subsidiaries, are targeting a 16% cut in CO2 emissions per available seat kilometre (ASK) until 2012. ANA has committed to a 200,000-tonne reduction in annual CO2 emissions by 2011, compared with 2006.

 

ANA was the first airline to be accepted into the scheme and has been promptly followed by JAL. According to an ANA representative, his airline filed on Tuesday to join the scheme and was accepted by the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau yesterday (Wednesday), forcing JAL to announce its own participation, although he claims that JAL has yet to officially file.

 

Companies that volunteer to participate in the scheme must set themselves CO2 emission reduction targets for their business operations in Japan for every financial year during the five-year period. Targets are submitted for approval by the Japanese government. Companies that manage to achieve their targets and exceed them can trade credits with other companies in the scheme that have not managed to meet their own targets.

 

During the period of the scheme, JAL Group says its domestic airlines – which includes Japan Airlines, JAL Express, J-AIR, Japan Transocean Air, Ryukyu Air Commuter, Japan Air Commuter and Hokkaido Air System – will set for each fiscal year a target for cutting the CO2 emissions per ASK of their domestic operations compared to 1990 levels.

 

JAL says it has decided to participate in the government-led scheme “as part of the airline’s ongoing environmental efforts”.

 

JVETS was launched in 2005 with 34 industrial companies originally offered government subsidies in return for reductions in their GHG emissions. Japan is the world’s fifth largest greenhouse gas emitter and is among those nations farthest behind in meeting emissions cuts mandated by the Kyoto Protocol.

 

ANA was recently endorsed by Japan’s Ministry of Environment as an ‘Eco-First’ company for the airline’s efforts to reduce its impact on the environment, including its Ecology Plan 2008-2011 that self-imposes a 200,000-tonne reduction in annual CO2 emissions by 2011, compared with 2006.

 

The Eco-First programme was established by the Government in April this year to recognize and promote the environmental actions of ‘pioneering firms’ compliant with the Kyoto Protocol. ANA is now entitled to use the Eco-First logo to help promote its environmental activities.

 

ANA is also engaged in forestation and coral-growing projects both in Japan and abroad, and runs a picture book competition to raise awareness of environmental issues, as well as participating in Biosphere Connections, the Star Alliance-wide project with a commitment to environment sustainability.

 

 

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