Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Monday he is opposed to simply extending the Kyoto Protocol, the current international treaty aimed at curbing global warming, and wants to see as its successor a broader framework that includes all major countries in addressing climate change.
Kan said at a House of Councillors Audit Committee session, “Our country’s position remains unchanged in seeking the immediate adoption of an encompassing, legally binding document that will create an effective global framework in which all countries will participate.”
His remarks come as countries such as China are calling for a provisional extension of the Kyoto pact in the event a new agreement to replace it after its 2012 expiration is not created in time.
The European Union recently agreed to support the proposed extension of the Kyoto Protocol on condition that key carbon dioxide-emitting countries such as China and the United States would be obligated to cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions.
China is not required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto pact, which obligates only developed countries to slash emissions, and the United States has withdrawn from the framework.
Members of the international community have been trying to come up with a post-Kyoto pact, but progress has yet to be seen before the next round of the U.N. climate conference, scheduled to take place in Mexico from November.
The previous U.N. climate talks in Copenhagen in December last year failed to adopt the Copenhagen Accord and ended up merely taking note of the nonbinding political agreement.
