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LONDON (Reuters) - Leading Japanese lenders have joined an initiative that links the provision of shipping finance to cuts in carbon dioxide emissions as the sector accelerates efforts to go green.

In recent weeks, Shinsei Bank Ltd, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing and MUFG Bank have signed up to the scheme, the banks said.

With about 90% of world trade transported by sea, global shipping accounts for nearly 3% of the world's CO2 emissions.

In 2019, a group of leading banks signed up to environmental commitments known as the "Poseidon Principles", whereby financiers would take account of efforts to cut CO2 emissions when providing loans to shipping companies.

Japan is one of the world's major maritime hubs, especially for shipbuilding.