US climate envoy in Japan to discuss effort to cut emissions
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry is in Tokyo to discuss efforts to fight climate change with top Japanese officials ahead of a United Nations conference in November
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.U.S. climate envoy John Kerry was in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss efforts to fight climate change with top Japanese officials ahead of a United Nations conference in November.
Kerry was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi as well as Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama.
Kerry arrived in Japan on Monday and will fly out on Tuesday evening to China for more climate talks — his second trip to the country under President Joe Biden's administration.
In his talks with Koizumi, Kerry was expected to discuss decarbonization efforts and cooperation between the two countries ahead of the U.N. climate conference, known as COP26, to be held in Glasgow in the first half of November.
During a visit to London last month, Kerry called on global leaders to work together and accelerate actions needed to curb rising temperatures to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. He urged China to join the U.S. in urgently cutting carbon emissions.
China is the world's top carbon emitter, followed by the United States. Japan is fifth.
Many countries have pledged to eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050. Japan has promised to strive to reduce its emissions by 46% from 2012 levels, up from an earlier target of 26%, to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. China has also set a goal to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
Suga has said Japan will try to push the reduction as high as 50% to be in line with the European Union.
In order to achieve that target, Japan’s Environment Ministry is seeking a significant budget increase to promote renewable energy and decarbonizing programs. The Trade and Industry Ministry plans to use large subsidies to promote electric vehicles and wind power generation, according to a draft budget proposal for 2022.
The Trade and Industry Ministry, in its draft basic energy plan released in July, said the share of renewables should be raised to 36-38% of the power supply in 2030 from the current target of 22-24%. The plan maintains the current 20-22% target for nuclear energy as officials remain undecided over what to do with the nuclear industry that has struggled since the 2011 Fukushima disaster. The plan cuts the use of fossil fuel from 56% to 41%.
During his Sept. 1-3 China visit, Kerry is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Xie Zhenhua.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.