Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Norway said it may reduce greenhouse- gas emissions by 40 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, the most ambitious target proposed by a developed nation.

The goal is tougher than the 30 percent previously proposed by the northern European nation and will contribute to “an ambitious treaty where large-emission countries agree to concrete emissions commitments,” the country’s re-elected government said yesterday in a policy document.

The pledge puts Norway ahead of the 27-nation European Union and Switzerland, which have said they’ll cut emissions by as much as 30 percent by 2020 if a new United Nations treaty to fight global warming is brokered in Copenhagen in December. Two weeks of preparatory UN climate talks end tomorrow in Bangkok.

“Norway will be a pioneer country when it comes to environmental policy,” Socialist Left leader and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen said in a statement posted on the government’s Web site. “We’ll strengthen our efforts in renewable energy,” she added.

Developing nations are calling for the industrialized world to slash greenhouse gases by at least 40 percent by 2020 to avert the worst effects of climate change. Talks have stalled on the ambition of reductions by industrialized countries and a dearth of pledges by the richer countries to provide financial assistance to the poorest nations.

The Norwegian proposal “is the type of political will needed to move the climate talks forward to a strong deal in Copenhagen,” Greenpeace International Climate Policy Director, Martin Kaiser said today in an e-mailed statement.

Developing countries have also said they’ll take action to fight climate change, though they won’t accept legally binding targets. The existing climate change treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, sets mandatory limits only for developed countries.

The Maldives, one of the countries most-threatened by rising seas, has said it aims to be carbon-neutral by 2020, while 11 Pacific island nations have pledged to reduce their emissions by a third from a business-as-usual trajectory by 2015, the 43-member Alliance of Small Island States said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

Norway also pledged to become “carbon neutral” by 2030 as part of a climate agreement in which other industrialized countries agree to major commitments, according to the document.

The Nordic nation said its work to slow deforestation in poorer nations, and to develop carbon capture and storage technology, will help offset the emissions it releases so there’s no net effect on the environment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alex Morales in London at amorales2@bloomberg.net; Marianne Stigset at mstigset@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 8, 2009 06:20 EDT