Under the Japanese formula, it and such countries as the United States could cut their emissions by as little as 2.5 percent. The European Union has proposed a 15 percent reduction, and the United States is expected to announce its plan later this month. The verbal beating Japan is taking underscores the complexity of trying to arrive at a world consensus on global warming. More than 150 nations will attend the conference, each bringing different economic, political and environmental conditions and goals to the table. Compounding the problem is that some people still do not believe global warming is a serious threat.
Japan now finds itself on the hot seat.
Most analysts say there is fact and fiction in Japan's contention that it has been so diligent in controlling emissions that further cuts would be extremely difficult. Since the oil shocks of the 1970s, Japan has spent massive amounts of money to make its industry and automobiles cleaner and more efficient. Japan has vastly reduced the air pollution that made Tokyo an environmental nightmare in the 1970s. Police officers used to wear masks in the streets to protect them from the dirty air. Today, Tokyo is one of the cleanest cities in Asia, despite a huge industrial base and more than 30 million residents.