Japan to give more aid over climate change+

TOKYO, Dec. 16 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed plans Wednesday to increase Japan's aid
to developing countries in curbing greenhouse gas emissions from the roughly $9
billion already promised, while stopping short of saying by how much.
He revealed the plans ahead of his trip to Copenhagen from Thursday to attend
the ongoing U.N. climate conference.
''While national interests are important, global interests are also very
important,'' Hatoyama told reporters, saying there is a need for Japan to
cajole developing countries into joining the global efforts and bring the talks
to a successful conclusion.
''Now that we've declared that (Japan will do) more than before, we will think
about taking more financial care than before,'' he said, without disclosing
specific amounts of aid to be increased.
The 15th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate
Change, as the talks are formally known, is expected to produce a political
deal to set the outlines of a new legal framework to combat climate change,
after the first commitment period for developed countries under the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol ends in 2012.
Japan has said it is ready to offer $9.2 billion as near-term aid by 2012 for
developing countries, while setting a goal of slashing its greenhouse gas
emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020.
Hatoyama is expected to return to Japan on Saturday.
==Kyodo