Japan’s Ishihara Urges Unity on Decarbonization at COP30

Belem, Brazil, Nov. 18 (Jiji Press)–Concerted efforts by all countries are necessary to meet a decarbonization goal under the Paris Agreement, an international framework to fight climate change, Japanese Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara said at the COP30 climate conference in Brazil on Tuesday. “The global community must be united in taking collective action” to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, Ishihara said in a speech. Noting that many countries have yet to submit their greenhouse gas reduction plans for 2035 to the United Nations even after the deadline at the end of September, he called on them to do so with “the highest possible ambition” as soon as possible. In the speech at the 30th Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP30, the minister emphasized Japan’s achievements in using a joint crediting mechanism, in which advanced countries share emissions reductions that were achieved through their technological support provided to developing nations. He expressed Japan’s intention to host a session of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change scheduled to be held in 2027. Japan “will continue to support efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the best available science,” Ishihara said. Regarding financial support for developing countries working on climate change measures, he said public funds are limited. It is important to steadily expand climate finance sources for developing countries through the involvement of all stakeholders, including the mobilization of private capital, he said. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]