Japan Unveils "Cool Earth 50" Initiative at WEF

Today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda introduced the "Cool Earth 50" initiative, aimed at cutting global greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2050. Fukuda, who will host the G8 summit in July, also said Japan would continue to cut its emissions beyond the expiration of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, despite, last month at U.N. talks in Bali, siding with the U.S. in rejecting a European Union plan to set an emissions cut target beyond 2012.

Addressing the 2,500+ business and political leaders at the WEF, Fukuda insisted "there is no time to lose in addressing climate change, [Japan] will extend the hand of assistance to developing countries suffering severe adverse impacts as a result of climate change." That hand will come in the form of the "Cool Earth Partnership" a publicly and privately financed fund that, over five years, will set aside $8 billion for climate change mitigation and $2 billion for grants, aid and technical assistance for countries moving to clean energy.

Additionally, Fukuda said Japan will be investing $30 billion over the next five years in research and development in the energy and environment sectors. Though no specific emissions reduction goals were mentioned, targets are a notoriously contentious subject in Japan, where business groups oppose anything that might lighten their pockets.

[via Reuters]