Japan’s newly elected Prime Minister-designate Yukio Hatoyama has announced plans to reduce the country’s CO₂ emissions by 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.

The plans go well beyond his predecessor’s target of a 15% cut in greenhouse gas emission on 2005 levels by 2020.

However, Japan is making little progress towards its 2012 target of a 6% cut in emissions on 1990 levels under the Kyoto Protocol.

The new target brings Japan, which ranks fifth in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the EU’s commitment to cut emissions by 20% on 1990 levels by 2020 or by 30% if other nations sign up to similar targets.

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