Japan will take every diplomatic opportunity to narrow differences over greenhouse gas emissions targets to ensure the upcoming COP3 international global warming conference in Kyoto does not fail, Chief Cabinet Secretary Kanezo Muraoka said Friday.
Muraoka said Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto told government officials to be ready to dispatch special envoys to some key countries to ask that they adopt flexible stances so an international consensus can be reached based on a proposal made by the Japanese government.
In early October, Japan called on developed countries to adopt a proposal for a 5 percent reduction in 1990 greenhouse gas emissions between 2008 and 2012. But the EU has been demanding a 15 percent reduction proposal while the U.S. has said the targets would not have to return to 1990 levels until between 2008 and 2012.
The government decided to step up its efforts after a preparatory meeting in Bonn showed little progress. Hashimoto will place telephone calls to his foreign counterparts, send letters to other countries and use all diplomatic routes available, Muraoka said. "Japan should make the utmost efforts as the nation that will host the Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP3)," Muraoka said. The 10-day conference, which is scheduled to be held in Kyoto from Dec. 1, is meant to produce the final treaty.