Gov't climate change panel calls for 'ambitious' Japan midterm target

Tokyo, June 17 Kyodo - A government climate change panel called for Japan to formulate an ''ambitious'' medium-term goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions in a proposal submitted to Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Monday, but it stopped short of offering a specific figure.

Not only industry but the public, too, should ''broadly bear an appropriate share'' of costs in order to realize a low-carbon society, such as through paying costs added to goods and service prices, the panel said.

''I would like to make this proposal an action guideline to create a low-carbon
society,'' Fukuda said as he received the proposal from Hiroshi Okuda, Toyota
Motor Corp. senior adviser and head of the panel.

Based on the proposal, the government hopes to compile possibly in July an
action plan that includes detailed measures, Fukuda told reporters later in the day.

Meanwhile, the panel also called for Japan to implement emissions trading on a
trial basis and attain a 60 to 80 percent domestic long-term reduction target
by 2050 from current levels -- proposals in line with Fukuda's new climate
change initiative unveiled a week before.

Fukuda announced the initiative apparently to show Japan's active stance on
tackling global warming as the host of July's Group of Eight summit, which
brings together leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,
Russia and the United States.

The panel proposal did not include a specific time frame for introducing the
emissions trading system, but Okuda said, ''The prime minister has already said
he would like to implement a trial from autumn, and I think he's willing to
introduce a full-fledged system from 2013 if things go well.''

On a medium-term reduction target for around 2020 to 2030, the proposal said,
''To make it fair and effective, it should be an ambitious one using the
(Japan-proposed) bottom-up, sectoral approach (to slash emissions).''

Using energy efficiency in each sector as a yardstick, the approach involves
determining potential reduction volumes on an industry-by-industry,
area-by-area basis that would then be tallied for a quantified national target.

Areas include offices, households and transportation.
Okuda said the panel did not include a specific medium-term reduction target in
the proposal ''to avoid causing confusion...at a time when various figures are
being floated.''

But he added he believes Fukuda ''has in mind'' figures such as a 25 to 40
percent emissions cut by 2020 as recommended by the U.N. Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change.

To realize a low-carbon society, the panel stressed the need to make a system
that would make ordinary citizens and companies ''understand that carbon
emissions, which have been thought of as free of charge until now, require
environmental costs.''

''This means that the newly born carbon cost will be included in prices of
products and services. Through this carbon cost burden, we would be required to
fulfill our responsibility on the carbon we emit,'' the proposal said.

Financial institutions should also disclose environment-related information so
consumers can choose eco-friendly institutions, the proposal said. ==Kyodo