Norway is prepared to increase its emission cuts in order to secure an international climate change treaty this December, dpa qouted Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as saying today. "I believe Norway should be prepared to cut more than the 30 per cent we have committed to before 2020 if it can help secure a global treaty on climate gases," Stoltenberg told broadcaster NRK. Stoltenberg is one of over 100 leaders due to attend a climate summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. This summit is aimed at speeding up efforts to secure a treaty at climate talks in Copenhagen in the December, aimed at finding a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. The Norwegian premier said he was "uncertain" how far-reaching the Copenhagen treaty will be. "It is important to fight for a treaty, but we also need a treaty that includes real cuts in the world's emissions of greenhouse gases and that includes developing nations," he said. Over the weekend, Environment and International Development Minister Erik Solheim took part in informal talks with counterparts from some 30 countries in the US. Solheim told NRK that Asian representatives were active during the session. "Japan has presented new emission cuts, China is doing at lot at home while India was more flexible than previously," Solheim said. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited northern Norway earlier this month to see first hand the effects of climate change in the Arctic region.
