28 December 2007 - Japan is considering pursuing tougher numerical targets for national emissions cuts in an international pact to fight global warming after the current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, Japanese government sources said.
Japan wants to establish a new method to set targets by focusing on each industrial sector's potential for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Tokyo will propose that each country adopt the method during international negotiations for the new pact, the sources said.
Preparations are under way for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to announce the proposal during the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, they said, but the proposal is yet to secure full domestic approval amid strong opposition from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Business Federation, the largest business lobby.
Tokyo would also call on participating countries at the Group of Eight summit, to be held in the Lake Toya resort area of Hokkaido in July, to agree to the proposal, according to the sources.
In the Davos meeting, Fukuda is also expected to propose that all countries, including developing nations, improve efficiency in energy consumption by 30 per cent from 2005 levels and to announce a ten-year, 1 trillion yen ($8.8bn) international project to develop technologies to cut emissions.