Japanese leaders are pursuing a plan to make their country carbon-neutral by 2050. On Monday they launched an institution that will oversee a new nationwide marketplace for emissions trading.
The organization will operate a system where businesses can buy or sell credits earned by cutting emissions. The government plans to introduce the system in fiscal 2026.
The person tapped to run the operation is Tsutsui Yoshinobu, Chairman of Nippon Life Insurance. Tsutsui said the organization has a mission to promote over 150 trillion yen of public-private investment over the next 10 years.
It will also collect a carbon levy that’s set to be imposed on businesses from fiscal 2028.
Fossil fuel importers such as oil refiners will have to pay the levy in proportion to their carbon emissions.