KYOTO — U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said Sunday that while long-term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are important, it is more critical that a post-Kyoto Protocol treaty with midterm targets be concluded in Copenhagen by next year.

But he warned there appears to be insufficient political leadership, especially among developed countries, to reach that goal and said Japan needs to do more to push the matter forward.

"Japan's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 percent to 80 percent by 2050 is impressive. Japan has also indicated that it might reduce emissions by 14 percent from the current level by 2020. Today, I call on Japan to provide further leadership in developing an even more far-reaching proposal," Ban told a group of scholars, students and local residents during a meeting at Kyoto University.