ID :
61980
Sat, 05/23/2009 - 08:35
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/61980
The shortlink copeid
Japan, Pacific island nations agree to cooperate on climate change+
SHIMUKAPPU, Japan, May 22 Kyodo -
The leaders of Japan and Pacific island nations agreed Friday to cooperate in
the battle against climate change by forming a ''Pacific environment
community,'' as they gathered for a two-day meeting in Hokkaido to discuss
various issues facing the island nations.
At Friday's session in Shimukappu, Japan and 16 Pacific Islands Forum member
states agreed on the importance of cooperation in adopting a ''fair and
effective'' carbon-capping framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is
due to expire in 2012, according to a declaration adopted at the meeting.
To help the island nations cope with environmental and climate change, Japan
announced that it will contribute 6.8 billion yen in aid aimed at facilitating
solar power generation and seawater desalination, Japanese government officials
said.
''It is essential to seek an agreement for a fair and effective successor
framework, which all major economies, including the United States and China,
will be able to participate in with stated responsibilities,'' Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso was quoted by a Foreign Ministry official as saying in the
meeting.
Climate change has become a critical issue for the Pacific island nations,
which are vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by global warming.
The leaders of countries such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and Samoa conveyed a strong
sense of crisis and said mankind has a ''moral obligation'' to address the
issue of climate change by developing renewable energy and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, a senior Japanese government official said.
''While facing the challenge of striking a balance between the environment and
economy, (Japan) has become a country that leads the world in (the field of
the) environment through the cultivation of technology and accumulation of
knowledge,'' Aso said at the opening of the summit.
''We'd like to share our technology and knowledge,'' Aso said, adding that
Japan would like to help the Pacific island countries overcome various
challenges as a partner who shares the Pacific Ocean.
By highlighting its efforts to tackle climate change, Japan is apparently
aiming to enhance its global presence in the run-up to a key U.N. climate
change conference in Copenhagen in December to adopt a successor treaty to the
Kyoto Protocol.
The 6.8 billion yen forms part of a combined 50 billion yen in aid for the
island nations over the next three years that Aso plans to pledge Saturday.
At the fifth Japan-Pacific Islands Forum summit, the participants are also
expected to take up the new influenza, which has been spreading rapidly in
Japan, the officials said.
Japan is also aiming to strengthen its ties with the island nations and will
seek their cooperation in Tokyo's push for a permanent seat on the U.N.
Security Council.
On the sidelines of the summit, Aso met separately with the leaders of the
island nations including the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Nauru, Tuvalu, the
Marshall Islands and Tonga to boost Tokyo's ties with each country.
The summit meeting is being co-hosted by Aso and Niue Premier Toke Talagi.
The nations attending the summit, apart from Japan, are members of the Pacific
Islands Forum, which was launched in 1971.
Japan decided not to invite interim Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama or
any of the country's Cabinet members because of the increasingly dictatorial
nature of Fiji's unelected military regime, Japanese officials said. The
Pacific Islands Forum suspended Fiji earlier this month.
Fijian Ambassador to Japan Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, however, is attending the summit.
Japan began hosting the Pacific islands summit in 1997 and has since held one
every three years. The fourth summit was held in 2006 in Okinawa Prefecture,
where Japan announced it would provide fresh aid worth 45 billion yen over the
three years from fiscal 2006.
The Pacific Islands Forum groups Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati,
the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
==Kyodo
The leaders of Japan and Pacific island nations agreed Friday to cooperate in
the battle against climate change by forming a ''Pacific environment
community,'' as they gathered for a two-day meeting in Hokkaido to discuss
various issues facing the island nations.
At Friday's session in Shimukappu, Japan and 16 Pacific Islands Forum member
states agreed on the importance of cooperation in adopting a ''fair and
effective'' carbon-capping framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which is
due to expire in 2012, according to a declaration adopted at the meeting.
To help the island nations cope with environmental and climate change, Japan
announced that it will contribute 6.8 billion yen in aid aimed at facilitating
solar power generation and seawater desalination, Japanese government officials
said.
''It is essential to seek an agreement for a fair and effective successor
framework, which all major economies, including the United States and China,
will be able to participate in with stated responsibilities,'' Japanese Prime
Minister Taro Aso was quoted by a Foreign Ministry official as saying in the
meeting.
Climate change has become a critical issue for the Pacific island nations,
which are vulnerable to rising sea levels caused by global warming.
The leaders of countries such as Tuvalu, Kiribati and Samoa conveyed a strong
sense of crisis and said mankind has a ''moral obligation'' to address the
issue of climate change by developing renewable energy and reducing greenhouse
gas emissions, a senior Japanese government official said.
''While facing the challenge of striking a balance between the environment and
economy, (Japan) has become a country that leads the world in (the field of
the) environment through the cultivation of technology and accumulation of
knowledge,'' Aso said at the opening of the summit.
''We'd like to share our technology and knowledge,'' Aso said, adding that
Japan would like to help the Pacific island countries overcome various
challenges as a partner who shares the Pacific Ocean.
By highlighting its efforts to tackle climate change, Japan is apparently
aiming to enhance its global presence in the run-up to a key U.N. climate
change conference in Copenhagen in December to adopt a successor treaty to the
Kyoto Protocol.
The 6.8 billion yen forms part of a combined 50 billion yen in aid for the
island nations over the next three years that Aso plans to pledge Saturday.
At the fifth Japan-Pacific Islands Forum summit, the participants are also
expected to take up the new influenza, which has been spreading rapidly in
Japan, the officials said.
Japan is also aiming to strengthen its ties with the island nations and will
seek their cooperation in Tokyo's push for a permanent seat on the U.N.
Security Council.
On the sidelines of the summit, Aso met separately with the leaders of the
island nations including the Solomon Islands, Samoa, Nauru, Tuvalu, the
Marshall Islands and Tonga to boost Tokyo's ties with each country.
The summit meeting is being co-hosted by Aso and Niue Premier Toke Talagi.
The nations attending the summit, apart from Japan, are members of the Pacific
Islands Forum, which was launched in 1971.
Japan decided not to invite interim Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama or
any of the country's Cabinet members because of the increasingly dictatorial
nature of Fiji's unelected military regime, Japanese officials said. The
Pacific Islands Forum suspended Fiji earlier this month.
Fijian Ambassador to Japan Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, however, is attending the summit.
Japan began hosting the Pacific islands summit in 1997 and has since held one
every three years. The fourth summit was held in 2006 in Okinawa Prefecture,
where Japan announced it would provide fresh aid worth 45 billion yen over the
three years from fiscal 2006.
The Pacific Islands Forum groups Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati,
the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New
Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
==Kyodo
