US climate envoy visits Japan, China
US climate envoy John Kerry held talks in Tokyo on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and other officials on cooperation on carbon emissions and cutting support for fossil fuels before heading to China for more discussions.
The former secretary of state has led US efforts to convince the global community of the threat of climate change and urge the acceleration of efforts to curb carbon emissions. The US push comes in advance of the UN COP26 climate conference, which will be held in Scotland in November.
Kerry first met with Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and in public comments before the closed-door portion of their meeting he briefly discussed Japan’s more strict emissions targets.
In April, Japan nearly doubled its target for emissions cuts by 2030 to a reduction of 46% in response to pressure from the United States and some of its own firms, after pledging last year to attain carbon neutrality by 2050.
“Japan made some tough decisions,” Kerry told Koizumi, referring to the targets.
Kerry told Koizumi that the months leading up to COP26 are “critically important and we need to intensify our efforts to tackle climate change,” local media reported.
Kerry later met Prime Minister Suga for about 15 minutes and “both sides agreed to continue to work together under the US-Japan Climate Partnership to advance the decarbonisation of the world,” the Japanese government said in a statement.
Japan has come under pressure for its continued support for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. It is the only G7 country building coal-fired power stations as it struggles with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which led to the shutdown of most of the country’s reactors.
In his later visit to China, Kerry will hope to build on commitments secured during a visit in April.