TOKYO, Dec. 28, Dec 27, 2007 -- Kyodo

Japan is considering pursuing tougher numerical targets for national emissions cuts in an international pact to fight global warming after the current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, Japanese government sources said Thursday.

Japan envisions establishing a new method to set targets by focusing on each industrial sector's potential for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Tokyo will propose that each country adopt the method during international negotiations for the new pact, the sources said.

Preparations are under way for Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda to announce the proposal during the meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in late January, they said, but the proposal is yet to secure full domestic approval amid strong opposition from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Business Federation, the largest business lobby.

Tokyo would also call on participating countries at the Group of Eight summit, to be held in the Lake Toya resort area of Hokkaido in July, to agree to the proposal, according to the sources.

In the Davos meeting, Fukuda is also expected to propose that all countries, including developing nations, improve efficiency in energy consumption by 30 percent from 2005 levels and to announce a 10-year, 1 trillion yen international project to develop technologies to cut emissions.

While specific target figures have yet to be indicated, Tokyo is already considering methods for large reductions, the costs involved and its own numerical target with the Environment Ministry convening a closed-door meeting of experts on Thursday.

The Kyoto Protocol set targets for countries to cut emissions from 1990 levels, such as 6 percent for Japan and 8 percent for the European Union, to be attained between 2008 and 2012.

In light of criticism that the targets in the 1997 protocol were decided politically and are unfair, Tokyo is aiming to propose a "fair" method to determine new targets to be pursued from 2013, the sources said.

Potential emissions cuts would be determined for each sector in reference to the volume of emissions for 1 ton of product. National targets would then be proposed after aggregating the volumes of emissions cuts for each industrial sector in a country, according to the sources.

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