Japan's envoy to the UN conference on global warming has reiterated the country's opposition to extending the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. Japan seeks a new framework that includes all major greenhouse gas emitters.

Negotiators are at odds at the 17th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP17, now under way in Durban, South Africa.

Developing countries seek to extend the Kyoto Protocol, which requires only developed countries to cut emissions, beyond its expiration at the end of next year. Developed countries are calling for a new framework binding China and other major emitters.

On Tuesday, Japan's ambassador for global environment affairs Masahiko Horie held his first news conference on the sidelines of the talks.

Horie noted that only 26 percent of total global emissions are governed by the Kyoto Protocol. He called for a fairer and more effective framework that includes all major emitters.

At the same time, Horie said Japan would offer financial and technical assistance to developing countries after the protocol's expiration.

Reporters asked the ambassador how Japan will reduce emissions after the nuclear accident in March. Horie said while the government is reviewing Japan's future energy policies, the country's medium-term goal of cutting emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels has not changed.

Source: http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20111130_23.html

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