FACTBOX: Japan's plans to meet Kyoto emissions goal

(Reuters) - Under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan committed itself to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 1.186 billion tonnes a year over the five years to March 2013, down 6 percent below 1990/1991 levels.

Japan, the world's fifth biggest emitter, aims to cut emissions to meet its Kyoto commitments in two ways.

Firstly, the goals include 20 million tonnes a year of emissions rights that the government plans to buy from abroad under Kyoto's market schemes and spending at home on forest conservation to absorb an estimated 48 million tonnes a year.

Assuming these offsets are in place as planned, the country is allowed to emit as much as 1.25 billion tonnes, compared with actual 1.29 billion tonnes in the last financial year ended in March 2009.

Tokyo has already procured more than 95 million tonnes of such offsets from abroad, compared with its plan to buy 100 million tonnes over the five-year period.

The other step is to seek voluntary pledges on emissions cuts by major industry sectors, including electricity generators and steel makers.

The power sector accounts for about 30 percent of Japanese greenhouse emissions, followed by the steel sector of 10 percent.

Unlike the European Union, Japan has been reluctant to impose a mandatory cap on companies' emissions because of past efforts by industry to conserve energy and the possibility of so-called "carbon leakage" of a flight of factories abroad.

Following is a rough guide to measures being implemented by Japan to cut CO2-equivalent emissions. (per year, average):

PUBLIC SECTOR

- Forest conservation - 48 million tonnes

- *Kyoto mechanism - 20 million tonnes

PRIVATE SECTOR

- **Electric power - about 90 million tonnes,

including 50 million tonnes via *Kyoto

mechanism

- ***Steel - 10-15 million tonnes,

including 12 million tonnes via *Kyoto

mechanism

- remaining emission cuts are up to other industrial sectors, households, offices and transport.

* The Kyoto mechanism refers to a United Nations scheme which allows rich-nation polluters to fund emission cuts in poorer or former communist countries and put them toward domestic carbon reduction targets or sell them for a profit.

** The latest industry data in September showed the power sector had bought a total 250 million tonnes of emissions rights from abroad by 2008/2009.

Of that, the industry as a total redeemed some 64 million tonnes of emissions rights to the government in 2008/2009, the first Kyoto year. Yet, eight of the 10 electric power firms failed to meet their self-imposed targets.

The industry has a voluntary target to reduce CO2 emissions to 0.34 kg per kilowatt-hour a year, down 20 percent from the 1990/91 level, over the five-year period.

*** The latest figure available for buying of emissions rights was up to 2007/2008.

(Reporting by Risa Maeda; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)