Marubeni, Kazakhstan to work on emissions projects

TOKYO, June 20 (Reuters) - Japan's Marubeni Corp (8002.T) and Kazakhstan's Environmental Protection Ministry have signed a pact to jointly promote the development of projects to cut greenhouse gas emissions in Kazakhstan, the Japanese trading firm said on Friday.

Marubeni is considering undertaking projects in the areas of hydroelectric generation, wind power and other energy-related work together with various businesses in Kazakhstan, the Japanese company said in a news release. The trading company said it hoped to begin working on these projects once Kazakhstan has signed the Kyoto Protocol. Marubeni is a major emissions trader in Japan and Europe.

The Kyoto pact expires at the end of 2012 and a successor pact is now under discussion to bind major emitters to emissions cuts further ahead. (Reporting by Miho Yoshikawa; Editing by Hugh Lawson)