The first carbon credits in Tokyo’s new cap-and-trade scheme traded hands on Monday at a price of  US$142 per tonne, well above market rates for carbon elsewhere, PointCarbon News reported.

Carbon credits traded were generated from an energy saving project operated by Daiwa House Industry and Taisei Rotec.

Prices were much higher than the current US$ 17-18 per tonne rate for UN-backed carbon offset credits traded in the Japanese market.

Japan’s cap and trade scheme aims to cap the city’s top 1,400 emitters, who must  cut their emissions by an average 7 percent between 2010 and 2014. Japan has pledged to cut its national emissions by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.