TOKYO -- The U.S. and Japan elevated climate response as a "pillar" of their bilateral relationship on Wednesday, as John Kerry wrapped his first meetings in Tokyo as U.S. climate envoy.
Kerry met with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, who set Japan on a course toward net zero carbon emissions by 2050 when he took office last year.
"Japan and the United States, alarmed by the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and other indicators of the growing need for accelerating and deepening emission reductions, are committed to making the 2020s the decisive decade for climate action, and to ensuring their collaborative efforts on the climate crisis a pillar of the Japan-U.S. bilateral partnership," the two governments said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The former secretary of state proceeds to Tianjin next on his second trip to China. Kerry also met with Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, and Economy Minister Hiroshi Kajiyama.
Kerry, who brokered and signed the Paris climate agreement for the U.S. in 2016, is on a last-minute campaign to boost emissions reduction and financial commitments before the COP26 climate meeting in Glasgow in November. The U.K.-hosted summit is at risk of ending in a stalemate as negotiations stall on raising $100 billion annually for climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as implementing guidelines known as the Paris rulebook.
Japan and the U.S. agreed to work together on exporting renewable energy and decarbonization infrastructure as part of their climate partnership, as well as ending new financing for coal power plants in developing countries.
"The decarbonization movement is no longer confined to the fields of climate change and energy, but is widely impacting areas under my purview like economy and trade," Kajiyama said. "Our partnership is taking shape."
The U.S. is currently the world's second-largest greenhouse gas emitter, after China. Japan ranks fifth.
The U.S. is seeking a formal commitment to halt coal projects from China, which has not financed any new coal plants for the first time this year. The Group of 20 failed to reach an agreement on shutting coal plants at their July meeting in Italy, largely due to pushback from coal-dependent countries like China and India.
Japan, meanwhile, counts among the world's top financiers of coal projects alongside China and South Korea, with ongoing plant construction in Vietnam and Indonesia. It joined the Group of Seven countries in June in pledging to end new government financing of coal-fired power.
Japan and the U.S. also remain divided on certain topics. For example, Kerry on Tuesday said Japan should focus on promoting renewable energy instead of supporting new power plants overseas that run on liquefied natural gas, which is less carbon intensive than coal. Kajiyama responded that Japan does help other countries adopt renewable energy.
"I hope to have a discussion about how we can contribute" to global decarbonization, Kajiyama said.
Climate change will be a theme in upcoming international gatherings, such as the United Nations General Assembly in September and the G-20 summit in October.
Kerry told Koizumi that the two months leading up to the COP26 summit will be decisively important and that there needs to be a stronger global response to climate change. Koizumi replied that he sees the period as an opportunity for both sides to confirm deeper cooperation ahead of COP26.