- Title: JAPAN: Danish PM seeks greater cooperation in eco-science with Japan
- Date: 9th March 2010
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 8, 2010) (REUTERS) (*** FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY ***) DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN AND JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER YUKIO HATOYAMA WALKING INTO MEETING ROOM RASMUSSEN AND HATOYAMA SHAKING HANDS PRIME MINISTERS AND DELEGATES FROM BOTH COUNTRIES SEATED AT TABLE HATOYAMA TALKING RASMUSSEN TALKING JAPANESE DELEGATES SEATED MEETING IN PROGRESS RASMUSSEN AND HATOYAMA WALKING INTO CONFERENCE ROOM RASMUSSEN AND HATOYAMA STANDING AT PODIUMS FOR PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN SAYING: "I have also warmly welcomed Japan's association to the Copenhagen Accord including its submission of an ambitious emission target." RASMUSSEN AND HATOYAMA STANDING AT PODIUMS (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN SAYING: "I believe the ambitious target and the proactive effort to transform Japanese economy into a green economy is an inspiration for us all." DANISH DELEGATES AT THE ANNOUNCEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (English) DANISH PRIME MINISTER LARS LOKKE RASMUSSEN SAYING: "This is indeed an area where we have a lot of similarities between Denmark and Japan. Both countries are very energy efficient - Japan is No. 1 and we're No. 2 - and I look into this area and see an area where we can enhance our co-operation in the future." RASMUSSEN AND HATOYAMA SHAKING HANDS
- Embargoed: 24th March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Reuters ID: LVA5MNFFXU823T5A0MYQW214LI9L
- Story Text: Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said Monday (March 8) that Denmark hoped to enhance co-operation with Japan in developing eco-friendly technologies.
Rasmussen, who arrived in Tokyo on Sunday (March 7) for a four-day visit, had an hour-long talk with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Monday evening, where leaders exchanged views on Japan-Denmark relations and international issues such as climate change.
"I have also warmly welcomed Japan's association to the 'Copenhagen Accord' including its submission of an ambitious emission target," said Rasmussen during a media announcement after the meeting at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo.
Japan had hoped to play a big negotiating role at the Copenhagen climate talks (COP 15) in December with its target, so big emitters such as the United States, China and India join a new pact that goes beyond 2012, when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends.
last January, Japan submitted to the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from its 1990 levels by 2020, sticking to the same target it had pledged during the Copenhagen climate talks.
"I believe the ambitious target and the proactive effort to transform Japanese economy into a green economy is an inspiration for us all," he added.
The United States, China, India and 20 other countries produced the "Copenhagen Accord" at the end of climate talks in the Danish capital last December. It was not formally adopted, but merely noted, by all 190 participating nations, with several objecting.
It set a goal of holding the rise in global temperatures below two degrees Celsius and included financing and technology agreements but left details to be worked out this year.
China, which takes up to 22 percent of the world's whole greenhouse gas emissions, reiterated a target to lower its carbon emissions by 40 to 45 percent from 2005 by the same year.
During Monday's bilateral talks in Tokyo, leaders of the two front runners in energy efficiency also sought ways to enhance co-operation in developing eco-friendly technologies.
"This is indeed an area where we have a lot of similarities between Denmark and Japan. Both countries are very energy efficient - Japan is No. 1 and we're No. 2 - and I look into this area and see an area that we can enhance our co-operation in the future," said Rasmussen.
Rasmussen, who succeeded Anders Fogh Rasmussen in April 2009, is visiting Japan for the first time as prime minister.
The summit was the third between Hatoyama and Rasmussen as they've met twice in Denmark in 2009 during the Assembly of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in October and the COP 15 in December. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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