Nov 03 (Japan Times) - GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday pledged up to $10 billion in funds over five years to assist Asia along the path to zero carbon emissions, seeking to show leadership in efforts to curb global warming on his debut on the world stage at a key U.N. climate summit.
“Japan will press onward to undertake efforts toward net zero emissions in Asia, the engine of global economic growth,” Kishida said at the climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland, in a hastily arranged trip following the general election on Sunday.
The aid, which came on top of $60 billion in climate finance Japan committed in June, is aimed at bringing developed countries closer to delivering on their promise to mobilize $100 billion per year in climate finance — one of the key focuses of the ongoing U.N. climate talks, known as COP26.
Kishida also said Japan would double to $14.8 billion its assistance to help other countries adapt to climate change and prevent disasters.
More than 100 world leaders, including U.S. President Joe Biden, have gathered from Monday for the two-day leaders’ session at the beginning of COP26 to provide political momentum for further actions to avoid the catastrophic impacts of global warming.
Meeting on the sidelines of the climate summit, Kishida had his first face-to-face conversation with Biden since taking office on Oct. 4 and agreed to strengthen the bilateral alliance and closely cooperate in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific in the face of China’s assertive territorial claims and military buildup.
In the address during the second day of the leaders’ session, the new Japanese leader reaffirmed Tokyo’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by fiscal 2030 compared with fiscal 2013 levels.
Japan will “continue strenuous efforts in its challenge to meet the lofty goal of cutting its emissions by 50%,” said Kishida, a former foreign minister.
