Incoming Prime Minister Hatoyama has said that Japan will adopt a goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 25% at the Copenhagen talks in December. This is the bottom end of the range proposed by the UN (15%-40% cuts), but far more than considered by Japan and other rich emitters so far.
Japan is the world’s second-largest economy and fifth-largest emitter of greenhouse gases, which are a major contributor to global warming. “As a mid-term goal, we aim at a 25% reduction by 2020 from 1990, based on the levels demanded by science to stop global warming,” Mr Hatoyama told a Tokyo conference on climate change. It is envisaged that the reductions will be achieved by bringing in emissions trading, renovating housing, subsidising solar panels and introducing low energy appliances in cars.
Let’s hope this encourages others to set aggressive goals and implement them.
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