Hatoyama calls on nations to put ego aside to seal global climate deal+

COPENHAGEN, Dec. 18 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday called on nations to put ego
aside to seal a global climate deal, saying that without a robust political
agreement, he and other national leaders would be failing as world leaders.

Hatoyama, addressing other leaders at the global climate conference in
Copenhagen, said countries must draw up a comprehensive, legally binding
document, possibly by mid-2010, and pledged to exert his leadership in the
process.
''It is extremely important for each country to set aside their egos and work
together for the sake of our children and grandchildren,'' the Japanese leader
said.
Noting the need to come up with a ''robust, if not necessarily perfect,''
political document, Hatoyama said failure to do so would mean that he and the
other leaders gathered at the conference had failed to fulfill their
responsibilities. ''What a disgrace to the world,'' he said.
''I believe that, this afternoon, we should adopt the outcome of our efforts,
with the endorsement of everyone here in this room,'' Hatoyama said, adding
that doing so would mean a major step forward in the fight against climate
change.
Japan aims to reduce its emissions by 25 percent compared with 1990 levels by
2020. On Wednesday, Japan said it will increase its near-term aid through 2012
for developing countries to combat climate change to $15 billion from an
earlier planned $9.2 billion -- a pledge aimed at moving the stalled U.N. talks
forward.
==Kyodo
2009-12-19 00:52:51