U.S. climate envoy Kerry visits Japan, China for talks on emissions

U.S. climate envoy John Kerry arrived in Tokyo for talks on Tuesday with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on cooperation on carbon emissions and cutting support for fossil fuels, especially coal, before heading to China tonight.

Talks in the two Asian economic powerhouses will be “to engage with international counterparts on efforts to address the climate crisis,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement on Monday, Washington time.

The former secretary of state has led U.S. efforts to convince the global community of the threat of climate change and urge the acceleration of efforts to curb carbon emissions. The U.S. push comes in advance of the U.N. COP26 climate conference, which will be held in Scotland later this year.

In Japan, discussions are likely to focus on the country’s continued support for coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel. Japan is the only G7 country building coal-fired power stations as it struggles with the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, which led to the shutdown of most of the country’s reactors.

In April, Japan nearly doubled its target for emissions cuts by 2030 to a reduction of 46% in response to pressure from the United States.

via Reuters