Arab News Japan
TOKYO: Alarmed by the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and other indicators of the growing need for accelerating and deepening emission reductions, Japan and the United States said they are committed to making the 2020s the decisive decade for climate change action. They will also ensure their collaborative efforts on the climate crisis are pillars of the Japan-U.S. bilateral partnership.
They said they would coordinate closely on their diplomatic efforts so that all major economies take bold actions in the 2020s to keep a 1.5 degree Celsius limit on global warming within reach, including through the Major Economies Forum and the G20.
Tokyo released this statement on the occasion of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s visit to Japan.
Both countries are working together and with others to ensure that the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow sends a clear signal that Parties to the Paris Agreement are determined to make the necessary efforts to keep a 1.5 degree Celsius limit on warming within reach,” a Japan-U.S. Joint Media Statement issued on September 1, on the occasion of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry’s visit to Japan
Japan and the USA have already announced 2030 targets to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2050 net-zero goals. They promised to achieve their ambitious 2030 targets/NDCs; both countries are strongly committed to mobilizing all available policies and resources and enhancing innovative technologies. They will also work together to pursue similar objectives to keep 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach globally,” said the statement.
They also agreed to dialogue on domestic implementation of the Paris Agreement, focusing on the planning and policies necessary to achieve the 2030 targets/NDCs and 2050 net-zero goals.
Further, they will enhance cooperation on innovation, including in such areas as renewable energy, energy storage (such as batteries and long-duration energy storage technologies), smart grid, energy efficiency, low carbon hydrogen, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage/Carbon Recycling, industrial decarbonization, and advanced nuclear power, as well as support the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate);
Both countries will work to end new direct government support for unabated international coal-fired power generation by the end of 2021, as G7 countries confirmed to do at the Carbis Bay summit, and work together to design pathways towards a net-zero emissions future with developing countries;
The agreement included working towards meeting the $100 billion annual joint mobilization goal as soon as possible, leveraging private sector capacity as well as public finance, and working jointly to align international financing flows with climate-resilient development and the global achievement of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050, with deep emission reductions in the 2020s.