Poland to sign CO2 deal with Spain, Ireland

* Poland looking to sell emissions rights in Japan

* Has talked with Mitsubishi (8058.T), Mitsui (8031.T) (Adds details in paragraphs 7-11)

By Risa Maeda

TOKYO, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Poland will soon sign a deal to sell a total 40 million euros ($60 million) of surplus greenhouse gas emission rights to Spain and Ireland, the country's first such government-to-government deal under the Kyoto Protocol, its environment minister said.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, signatory nations that are comfortably below their emissions targets can sell their surpluses in the form of credits, called Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), to governments and companies that are short of their goals.

Poland, the European Union's biggest ex-communist state, is able to sell about 500 million tonnes in CO2 equivalent of AAUs over the 2008-2012 period of Kyoto's first phase and is also looking to sell them in Japan, said Environment Minister Maciej Nowicki, who was visiting Tokyo for an investment seminar.

"Just in two weeks I will sign the first contract with Spain and with Ireland through EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development)," Nowicki told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

The EBRD has set up a Multilateral Carbon Credit Fund to help governments seeking to trade such surplus credits via market schemes under the Kyoto Protocol.

"Spain and Ireland this year in budgets together have 40 million euros for this purpose," he said, referring to the value to be spent on Poland's AAUs by the two governments. Nowicki declined to disclose the amount of AAUs or other details.

In July, Poland completed the domestic legal framework needed to sell AAUs, lagging other sellers in Eastern Europe. The Japanese government has already settled deals to buy AAUs from Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Latvia. [ID:nT133321] [ID:nADO537748]

Nowicki said Poland would spend the money from the AAUs only on programmes to cut greenhouse gas emissions such as those investing in renewable energy sources, energy efficiency and clean-coal technologies.

"We have several programmes which are ready and we're waiting for the money," he said, adding that his government has also had talks with Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) and Mitsui & Co Ltd (8031.T) on selling AAUs.

"I think now we can accelerate the discussions. I think the first transaction will open the door for other negotiators, other possibilities," he said. ($1=.6665 Euro) (Editing by Chris Gallagher)