In this report, a CO2 recycling system is proposed and designed for the purpose of CO2 mitigation through utilization of solar energy (photovoltaic power generation). A performance analysis of the potential of this system for CO2 reduction is performed as one of the life cycle analyses (LCA) of this system. The CO2 emission from building the photovoltaic (PV) power generation facilities represents the largest fraction of CO2 emission and accounts for 81 per cent of the CO2 emission from building of plants. The CO2 balance ratio of the system is approximately 1.4. It clearly reveals that this system would be an effective way to reduce CO2 emissions and to utilize PV power generation as a natural energy source. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.