The government is paving the way to allow new ways to cut carbon dioxide emissions, including pumping it 1,000 meters under the seabed, officials said.
CO2 capture and storage technologies (CCS) are considered a key to curbing greenhouse gas emissions required under the Kyoto Protocol to prevent global warming.
Japan plans to revise its related laws now that the international community is moving toward approving the idea.
A meeting on the London Convention on marine pollution on Friday listed CO2 among materials that can be dumped at sea.
CCS technologies are also on the agenda at the second meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol in Nairobi, which runs from Monday to Nov. 17.
The CCS program will cover CO2 emitted in large quantities from such facilities as power plants and steel factories.
The greenhouse gas will be funneled through pipelines to sites including oil fields and closed mines on land as well as into water-bearing layers deep under the seabed.
The system originated from an oil industry technology that helps collect more crude oil by pumping CO2 into oil wells. It attracted attention in recent years as a key technology to curb CO2 emissions.
Experts estimate that at least 2 trillion tons of CO2, or the total global CO2 emissions over 100 years, could be captured and stored underground.
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