Japan and the European Union failed to agree on Wednesday on a “mid-term” target for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, but will go into the G8 talks this summer with a closely matched position that contrasts sharply with that of the US.

The governments agreed that national “mid-term” emission cutting targets should be set, but Japan was unwilling to specify a year. The EU has agreed to cut its emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, and had urged Japan to agree the same.