Nissan Motor Co. has launched a carbon-offset program linked to vehicle sales as part of the company's efforts to combat global warming. For every March Collet compact car sold in Japan, Nissan will acquire one carbon credit issued under the Kyoto Protocol, the Japanese automaker said in a statement Tuesday. One carbon credit represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. According to Nissan, Japan's No. 3 automaker behind Toyota and Honda, one carbon credit would be needed to offset the amount of CO2 emitted by driving a March Collet 4,972 miles.

The automaker said that the carbon offset program "allows customers to balance out their individual CO2 footprint and make a direct positive contribution to CO2 reduction globally." The carbon credits Nissan purchases will be transferred to the Japanese government to help the nation reach its greenhouse-gas emission reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. Under the protocol, Japan has until 2012 to reduce its annual emissions of greenhouse gases by 6 percent from the fiscal 1990 level. Japan plans to purchase 20 million carbon credits from abroad annually during the five-year period. Nissan said it will commission Carbon Offset Japan, an environmental non-profit organization, to carry out the credit purchases and transfer them to the Japanese government.