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Japan Not to Ratify Kyoto Pact Without US: Foreign Minister
Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Friday that Japan will not ratify the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to curb global warming if the United States stays out of the framework that imposes binding limits on emissions of greenhouse gases, Kyodo News reported.
"Japan cannot go ahead with European countries while leaving behind the U.S. We will make constructive efforts to the last to ratify the pact jointly with the U.S.," Tanaka told a House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
The Japanese foreign minister said she will urge U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell during their talks scheduled for next Monday to have the country revert to the framework of the Kyoto accord.
U.S. President George W. Bush has repeatedly indicated the country's intention to ditch the treaty, saying it would hurt the U.S. economy while exempting developing countries from duties to reduce greenhouse gases.
The U.S. is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide, one of six greenhouse gases whose reductions are stipulated under the Kyoto treaty.
Tanaka was responding to a question by Naoto Kan, secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, who insisted Japan independently ratify the treaty, which was adopted in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto in 1997.
Meanwhile, Japanese Environment Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi reiterated Friday that Japan will not give up "to the very last moment" in its efforts to persuade the U.S. to participate in the process of the Kyoto pact.
She made the comment at a press conference after being asked about the failure to reach agreement on the Kyoto treaty issues between the U.S. and the European Union in the summit talks held Thursday at Gothenburg, Sweden.
Kawaguchi said without U.S. participation, developing countries may not take part in the global efforts to curb global warming.
If large emitters do not join, the pact "will not be a process of which we can be proud for future generations," the Japanese minister added.
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