Japan eyes new emissions cut goal for 2050: reports
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan, the world's fifth biggest polluter, will announce a target next month for cutting domestic greenhouse gas emissions by 60-80 percent from current levels by 2050, media reported on Sunday.
The target, more ambitious than Japan's current proposal for the world to halve emissions by 2050, is aimed at boosting its leadership in climate talks as host of the Group of Eight summit in July, the Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun newspapers said.
While the European Union and Canada also favor a goal of halving global emissions by 2050, developing nations have said they would not sign up for such a goal unless the United States did far more to curb emissions.
The Nikkei said Japan would also set out plans to create a carbon credit exchange, where companies can trade emission rights, but did not give details.
Japan is seeking to take a more active role in global talks on fighting climate change and has pushed for an industry-focused framework for a new United Nations climate treaty to follow the Kyoto Protocol, which ends in 2012.
Its proposal for a "sectoral approach" to targets, which sets greenhouse gas curbs on industries such as steel and cement, is meant to appease domestic businesses that have long said targets should reflect Japan's past efforts to raise energy efficiency.
But developing countries are suspicious that the approach will put their energy-intensive industries at a disadvantage and allow rich countries to get away with easier curbs on future emissions.
China, in a joint statement with Japan during President Hu Jintao's visit to Tokyo, said the sectoral approach was an important tool for fighting climate change but stopped short of a full endorsement.
The Mainichi Shimbun said African nations meeting near Tokyo later this month would support Japan's steps against global warming and welcome its plans to provide $10 billion in aid to help developing countries fight climate change.
(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka; Editing by Alex Richardson)
