The United States and Japan have issued a statement that both sides, along with other countries, are committed to doubling down on their efforts to tackle the climate crisis and make the 2020s the ‘decisive decade for climate action’.
The statement says that both Japan and the US are greatly alarmed by the recent report issued by the Panel on Climate Change, which underlines the pressing needs for steeper emission cuts to maintain the 1.5 degree Celsius limit on global temperature increase set by the Paris Agreement.
In addition, the two countries have also announced their targets for the 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions that aim to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. The targets are perceived to be very ambitious and to reach them, the US and Japan are committed to assemble all their available resources, policies, and cutting edge technologies.
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The statement also specified several other goals that both parties commit to cooperate with one another for.
Namely, the two countries are to enhance their collaborative efforts to boost innovations in the areas of renewable energy and storage technologies, energy efficiency, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS), as well as in advanced nuclear power.
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Furthermore, the sides also agree to stop all new government support for coal-fired power generation by the end of this year. This is part of the G7 initiative that was confirmed at the Carbis Bay summit.
And last but not least, Japan and the US have also agreed to increase their efforts aimed at facilitating subnational climate action on a global scale through technical, diplomatic and development means.
After holding talks in Tokyo, Japan, on his official visit to the country as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, former secretary of state John Kerry is now headed to China for further discussions on climate change.
