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Japan says UN climate talks may enter overtime

10 December 2010 01:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Japan said that UN-led climate talks in Mexico could run into extra time as it stood firm in opposing a proposed extension of the Kyoto Protocol which it considers unfair, APA reports quoting Associated Press.

Foreign ministry official Akira Yamada denied accounts that Japan was the major holdout to an agreement in the two-week conference in Cancun, which involves more than 190 countries and was set to end Friday.

"We believe we can reach a concrete, positive Cancun outcome at the end of the session. Maybe the session will not end on Friday, maybe on Saturday," Yamada told reporters.

Yamada voiced hope that Japan and other countries would find the right wordings to accommodate all sides, denying that the Kyoto Protocol was the "blocking obstacle" for the talks.

The Kyoto Protocol, named after Japan’s ancient capital where it was negotiated in 1997, requires developed countries to cut carbon emissions blamed for climate change.

With a new treaty looking increasingly distant, the European Union has led calls to extend the Kyoto Protocol whose obligations run out at the end of 2012.

Japan, which is behind in meeting its own commitments, has loudly objected, pointing out that Kyoto only covers some 30 percent of global emissions as the top two polluters -- China and the United States -- are not covered.

Japan’s position "is not only from our narrow interest, but the interest of the planet as it is neither a fair nor effective way to tackle these climate change challenges," Yamada said.

China has no requirements as a developing country, while the United States -- alone among the wealthy, or Annex I, countries -- rejected the treaty.

"It is like the Annex I countries are the soccer players and the non-Annex I countries and the United States are spectators in the stand. However we work and score... we are criticized," Yamada said.

"We would like all the major emitters to go down to this playing field," he said.