U.N. climate chief hails Hatoyama pledge, concerned about finance issue

TOKYO, Sept. 7 Kyodo -
U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer on Monday hailed a new ambitious pledge by
Japan's premier-to-be to tackle global warming, saying it is ''very important
to international negotiations'' and ''will be an encouragement for other
countries to show a greater level of ambition.''
The executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change from
the Netherlands also aired concerns about the slow pace of negotiations to
craft a framework to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which will expire in
2012, saying talks on how to finance developing countries' efforts to slash
heat-trapping gases are ''going too slowly.''
In an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo, de Boer expressed appreciation for
the announcement earlier in the day by Democratic Party of Japan leader Yukio
Hatoyama, who is set to become the nation's premier on Sept. 16. Hatoyama said
his government will seek to reduce Japan's greenhouse gas emissions by 25
percent by 2020 from 1990 levels.
The new midterm goal unveiled by Hatoyama compares with an 8 percent cut in the
same time frame that has been upheld by the current government led by outgoing
Prime Minister Taro Aso. The target has drawn harsh criticism from other
countries for being not ambitious enough.
''I think this will increase the confidence on the part of developing countries
that industrialized countries, including Japan, are serious about addressing
climate change,'' de Boer said. ''This election (in Japan) means that a new
government will be a lot more ambitious than the previous one.''
As for the negotiation process toward a key U.N. climate change conference
slated for December in Copenhagen, de Boer said countries ''really need to get
down to serious business now'' because they only have three weeks of
negotiating time in preparatory talks to be held in Bangkok and Barcelona
between late September and early November.
''We have about 280 pages of text at the moment. That needs to be condensed
into a workable agreement,'' he said.
De Boer urged industrialized countries to make their greenhouse gas reduction
targets more ambitious, because their collective emission cut pledge at present
falls short of the 25 to 40 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2020
recommended by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which groups
scientific experts.
He also called on developed countries to reach out to industrializing countries
to financially help them grapple with global warming. ''China, India, Brazil,
Mexico, South Africa all have national climate and energy strategies in place
and all have indicated that they are willing to do more. The big question mark
is the issue of finance,'' he said.
Turning to Japanese industry, de Boer said he is confident that Japanese
companies will be more competitive in the course of implementing the 25 percent
cut goal to be set by the new government.
''I think that the low-carbon economy is where the future of the world lies.
Japan has a long history of innovation and efficiency. I think (the 25 percent
cut goal) can help the Japanese industry to be more competitive,'' de Boer
said.
De Boer visited Tokyo to take part in the Asahi World Environment Forum hosted
by the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.
==Kyodo