The Role of Eco-Cars

If global warming continues to worsen, the Antarctic ice sheet may melt and bring about a rise in the earth's sea level, which would cause some land to be covered with water. A change in climate would kill many plants and make it difficult to grow some crops that people depend on. This would put the survival of people, plants, and animals at risk. A change in climate would kill many plants and make it difficult to grow some crops that people depend on.

In June 2002 Japan ratified the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement that is intended to prevent global warming and requires countries to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that they emit. The Kyoto Protocol was unanimously agreed upon at an international conference held in Kyoto in 1997. Now that Japan has approved the protocol, it must cut its emissions of greenhouse gases to an average of 6% below 1990 levels by the period between 2008 and 2012.

There are a lot of things that ordinary people can do at home to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases. For example, people can use less air conditioning and heating and make sure to turn out the lights when leaving a room.

It is believed, though, that about 20% of all the carbon dioxide produced in Japan comes from cars. For Japan to fulfill its international duty, it is important to switch from gasoline-burning cars to eco-cars and to cut back on driving as much as possible. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said in a May 2001 policy speech that the government would shift to using eco-cars beginning in April 2002 and that all government vehicles would be eco-cars by March 2005. To promote the spread of fuel-cell vehicles, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport have decided to reevaluate a number of regulations and construct a new system by March 2005. And in order to generate interest in eco-cars among the general public, a new "green tax system" was begun in April 2001, giving tax discounts to cars with lower emissions.

The car plays an important role in many people's lives. But in order not to further harm the global environment just for the sake of convenience, we must make good use of eco-cars. Eco-cars will be indispensable in the twenty-first century.

Photo: PANA