“It’s extremely important for the G7 leaders to go one step further to reach an ambitious agreement in order to advance discussions with developing countries at the upcoming G20 summit and COP28 ,” she argues.This is a glimpse of the special operation during the Sumida River Fireworks Festival in 2019 (©TOKYO-SKYTREE)Īround 900 tickets for the TOKYO SKYTREE Sumida River Fireworks Festival special operation will be available for purchase. Hirata says she is paying attention to whether the G7 will be able to remove the word “predominantly” from its commitment to a decarbonised power sector by 2035, which would eliminate the possibility of continued use of fossil fuel-fired power. “At the minimum, I hope they will not backslide on the pledges made at the ministerial level,” says Kimiko Hirata, executive director and founder of Climate Integrate, a non-profit group.įollowing the Sapporo meeting, people with knowledge of the discussions said Germany was insisting on wording in the final communiqué that supported public investment in the gas sector - drawing opposition from other member states who said that was incompatible with climate goals. G7 nations failed to set a firm timeline to exit from coal last month amid strong opposition from Japan “In the G7 meeting, we acknowledged that different countries around the world have various economic and energy situations, and the path to carbon neutrality by 2050 should be diverse,” said Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan’s minister of economy, trade and industry, after the ministerial meeting in the northern city of Sapporo, in April.
Member nations also committed “to achieving a fully or predominantly decarbonised power sector by 2035”, but once again failed to set a firm timeline to exit from coal amid continuing opposition from host nation Japan. That forced the country to increase its reliance on coal, natural gas and oil.Ī test facility making hydrogen from renewable energy in Fukushima, near the site of the 2011 nuclear disaster © AFP via Getty ImagesĮnergy and environment ministers of the G7 countries have now pledged to accelerate their shift to renewable energy. Germany, for example, has temporarily restarted coal power plants and held discussions with Senegal about fossil fuel exploration.Ĭritics say that Tokyo’s attempt to shape energy transition efforts in Asia appears self-serving, and is simply an extension of its previous argument that Japan should be treated differently because of the circumstances caused by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster. This position, according to some Japanese officials, was reinforced after the Ukraine crisis sparked a global debate about how quickly countries should shift to cleaner forms of energy. The thrust of Tokyo’s argument is that Asia - which accounts for roughly half of global carbon emissions and is home to the world’s youngest generation of coal power plants - faces environmental challenges that are distinct from those of Europe or North America, and therefore the pace of its transition to meet climate targets should be different, as well. “That is why it is crucial to advance a realistic path for energy transition.”
“For Asia, we need to have as many options as possible on energy for their stable supply,” argued prime minister Fumio Kishida in March, as Japan hosted the first ministerial meeting with Australia and south-east Asian countries on the climate initiative, known as Asia Zero Emission Community.
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