OSAKA — The Democratic Party of Japan's promise to pursue a 25 percent cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels is what scientific experts recommend.
The goal will be welcomed by the European Union, which has announced cuts of at least 20 percent by 2020 based on 1990 levels, and by the United Nations, developing countries and environmental nongovernmental organizations as a sign Japan will take a leading role at the December U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen if the DPJ wins the Aug. 30 election.
But opposition to the target remains strong, especially among Japan's largest business organizations whose members rank among the country's top polluters.