Britain Sees No Talk of Emissions Targets at G8
Date: 23-May-07
Country: JAPAN
Author: Isabel Reynolds
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was asked by reporters in Tokyo whether she was concerned about a possible gap in climate change policy between the European Union and Japan, ahead of the summit at Heiligendamm in Germany.
"I don't think anyone envisages the idea that there should be some discussion about setting numerical targets at Heiligendamm," she said after a meeting with her counterpart, Foreign Minister Taro Aso.
"There has been a misunderstanding of the nature of the discussions that we expect," Beckett said.
"What we are both anxious to see is discussions about whether there should be a further international framework and what might be an effective framework," she said, referring to hopes that a new agreement will take the place of the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
Japan is finalising a proposal for a new global framework to cut greenhouse gas emissions from 2013, and plans to unveil it later this week, Kyodo news agency said on Monday, quoting government officials.
But the United States, which did not ratify the Kyoto agreement, has been pushing for a strongly worded statement on climate change to be deleted from a final communique for the June 6-6 summit.
JAPANESE TECHNOLOGY
Earlier in the day, Beckett urged Japan to use its advanced teBhnology to help China reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, despite Japanese concerns about increasing competition with its giant neighbour.
Beckett was speaking to business leaders at a climate change symposium in Tokyo, where she is on a visit following a stay in China.
"Japanese low-carbon technology is second to none. Now is the time for Japan to capitalise on that," she said. "I know Japanese business has particular concerns about economic competition with China. But we all have more to lose if China does not make the transition to a low carbon economy."
China could overtake the United States to become the top emitter of global warming gases as early as this year, but Beijing has rejected caps on its emissions growth for the coming decades and called for more technology transfer.
Beckett said her visit to China, where she met Premier Wen Jiabao and other senior officials, convinced her Beijing was more serious about tackling climate change than many believe.
"Many outside China seem to misunderstand where China is on this issue," she said. "China's leadership is worried about the implications of climate change on their economy and their social stability."
China is also keen to bolster its energy security, she said.
"That is why China has set itself such challenging targets on energy efficiency. It is not rhetoric, it is a radical restructuring of the economy."
Be#jett is set to discuss with Aso ways of extending the Kyoto protocol on climate change, which expires in 2012, and said Japan's role as host of next year's Group of Eight summit of wealthy nations would be vital.
An international agreement must be reached by 2009 in order to avoid a damaging gap in regulation, a British official said last week.
The United States refused to ratify the Kyoto agreement, which did not set binding emissions targets for China and India.
Germany, the host of this year's G8, set to be held next month, wants member countries to agree to halve carbon emissions by 2050 and promote carbon trading.