Hatoyama rejects U.N. chief's request to cut emissions unconditionally+

COPENHAGEN, Dec. 18 Kyodo -
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday rejected a request from U.N.
Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for Japan to act to meet its ambitious greenhouse
gas emission target unconditionally, saying Tokyo needs an international
framework covering all major emitters to do so.

During a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a global climate conference in
Copenhagen, Ban praised Japan for aiming to reduce its emissions by 25 percent
compared with 1990 levels by 2020 and requested that Tokyo begin acting in line
with its promise regardless of other nations' actions.
''I haven't thought of removing that condition,'' Hatoyama told Ban, according
to the Japanese delegation. ''It is necessary to call for other nations to take
bold actions,'' the Japanese leader was quoted as saying.
Hatoyama has joined other leaders in the Danish capital for the U.N. climate
change talks aimed at striking a global deal on cutting emissions.
Japan has pledged drastic cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions as a medium-term
goal, but says that commitment is contingent on an agreement on ambitious
targets for all major economies, such as China and the United States.
==Kyodo
2009-12-19 01:20:06