US Climate Envoy Kerry Discusses Emissions Cut in Japan Ahead UN Conference in November

Kerry meets Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga

In an effort to push forward the climate change fight ahead of a United Nations conference in November, the US Climate Envoy John Kerry arrived on Tuesday for talks in Tokyo where he’s scheduled to meet the PM Yoshihide Suga, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi as well as other top Japanese officials, Politico reports.

The UN climate conference, known as COP26, will be held in the first half of November in Glasgow.

The decarbonization efforts and the cooperation between the US and Japan were high on the agenda of Kerry’s meeting with Koizumi, along with the emissions cut in Japan, the fifth largest pouter in the world, in line with its promise to reduce its emissions by 46% from 2012 levels and to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

Japan’s PM Suga pointed earlier Japan’s efforts to push the reduction as high as 50% to be in line with the EU, but Japan’s Environment Ministry is seeking a significant budget increase in order to achieve that target by promoting renewable energy and decarbonizing programs.

The draft budget proposal for 2022 shows that Japan’s Trade and Industry Ministry plans to use large subsidies to promote EVs and wind power generation along with raising the renewables’ share to 36-38% of the power supply in 2030 and decreasing the use of fossil fuel from 56% to 41%.

Kerry will fly out for more climate talks on Tuesday evening to China, the world’s top carbon emitter, where he is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua. China has also set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.

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