Obama praised for emissions goal

Tokyo - The head of the International Energy Agency on Thursday applauded President Barack Obama's plans to commit the US to significant greenhouse gas reductions at next month's Copenhagen climate summit.

Despite heated opposition in Congress, the president will present a US pledge to cut emissions by 17% over the next decade, on the way to reducing heat-trapping pollution by 80% by mid-century, the White House said on Wednesday.

The 17% figure is in line with IEA's objective of limiting the long-term concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to 450 parts per million of CO2 equivalent and keeping the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, said executive director Nobuo Tanaka.

"Such a commitment is quite positive, and it will make a contribution to our debate and discussion in Copenhagen," Tanaka told reporters at the Japan National Press Club.

Obama will attend the start of the conference December 9, a week from next Wednesday, before heading to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. The White House said Obama is expecting "robust mitigation contributions" from China and other emerging nations as part of any final agreement.

The IEA, which serves as a policy adviser to 28 mostly industrialised oil-consuming nations, estimates that global emissions may actually decline this year - possibly by 3% - because of the financial downturn.

Tanaka said the recession has given the world a "window of opportunity" at Copenhagen.

But without a change in government policies, consumption will rebound. The IEA estimates that by 2030, energy demand will be 40% higher than in 2007.

The Paris-based agency says that $1.1 trillion needs to be invested annually from now until 2030, for a total of $26 trillion, just to meet energy demand on current growth trends.

An additional $10.5 trillion needs to be invested over that time period if countries aim to achieve the so-called "450 Scenario" of limiting the global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius, according to the IEA.

With Asia set to play an increasingly bigger role in energy markets in the coming years, cooperation across the region will foster efficiency and security, Tanaka said, who supports a broader electricity market for East Asia similar to Europe's.

Japan can help, he added, by serving as innovator and financier. Because its emissions levels are "not very high," the country can instead help other countries reduce emissions by sharing technologies and funding programs, he said.

- AP