Japan pledges $10 billion in push for net-zero emissions in Asia
Tokyo, Nov 3 (EFE).- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised up to $10 billion over five years to help support decarbonization across Asia, during his appearance Tuesday at the COP26 summit in Glasgow.
“Japan will press onward to undertake efforts toward net-zero emissions in Asia, the engine of global economic growth,” said Kishida during the second day of COP26, according Kyodo news agency on Wednesday.
“I want to firmly convey to the world Japan’s strong resolve to exercise leadership toward zero emissions in Asia as a whole,” he told local media before his departure for the summit, in what is the first official trip of the leader after revalidating his mandate in Sunday’s general election.
The announced fund of $10 billion over five years aims to assist Asia along the path towards zero carbon emissions.
The aid is in addition to Japan’s June pledge of $60 billion to help the commitment of developed countries to raise $100 billion in climate financing each year, one of the key points of the United Nations in the fight against climate change.
In his speech during the second day of COP26, Kishida also reaffirmed Japan’s commitment made last year of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46 percent by 2030, compared to 2013 levels.
The world’s third-largest economy maintains strong dependence on coal and emits the fifth-highest CO2 emissions in the world behind China, the United States, India and Russia (or the sixth including the European Union as a bloc), according to the international platform Global Carbon Atlas.
On the sidelines of the summit, Kishida had a brief meeting with US President Joe Biden, according to local media Wednesday.
Kishida and Biden reaffirmed their intention to maintain close cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in the face of an increasingly more assertive China, local media reported.
This was their first meeting since the Japanese leader took power on Oct. 4. EFE
cgv/tw
