Japan Seeks 50 Pct Emission Cut at U.N. Climate Talks

Poznan, Poland, Dec. 11 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Environment Minister Tetsuo Saito on Thursday called on the world to share a goal of at least halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Saito made the call in his speech at a ministerial meeting here of
the 14th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on
Climate Change (COP14).
All major economies should join a new framework for the fight
against global warming to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which is set to
expire in 2012, Saito said.
He also called on major developing countries to set energy
efficiency targets.
Saito said Japan plans to unveil its own medium-term target for
reducing heat-trapping gases next year after examining scientific knowledge
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC was established
in 1988 jointly by the World Meteorological Organization and the U.N.
Environment Program.