This paper examines the factors that have an effect on CO2 emissions produced by Japanese industries between 1985 and 1995 by using input-output tables. The effects of environmental technological changes (ETC) and production technological changes (PTC) on CO2 emissions are considered separately. Furthermore backward and forward linkage effects in each sector, that shows the extent to which each sector spreads or receives CO2 emissions-impacts across all of sectors, will be calculated. The results show that both types of technologies contributed to a decrease in CO2 emissions during the bubble economy of the late 1980s but not during the recession of the early 1990s. Trade factors succeeded in decreasing CO2 emissions in both periods, thus trade structures facilitated the turning of Japan into a net importer of CO2 emissions between 1985 and 1995. The backward and forward linkage effects also decreased during the boom of the late in 1980s but not the recession of the early 1990s, while the chemical products and electrical machinery sectors continued to reduce both effects. This indicates that both sectors were relatively successful in decreasing their CO2 emissions-impacts between 1985 and 1995. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.