Japan Hosts 1st Asia Zero Emissions Ministerial Meeting

Jiji Press

12:44 JST, March 5, 2023

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Japan hosted the first ministerial meeting of its Asia Zero Emissions Community initiative on Saturday, bringing together energy ministers from Japan, Australia and nine member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, excluding Myanmar.

The ministerial meeting, held in Tokyo under the chair of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, adopted a joint statement in which the participating countries pledged to promote cooperation on decarbonization.

The AZEC initiative, unveiled by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in January last year, aims to support decarbonization efforts in Asia using Japanese technologies.

In a video message to the ministerial meeting, Kishida said that it is very important to promote a “realistic energy transition” to balance decarbonization efforts and economic growth.

At a press conference after the meeting, Nishimura stressed that Japan hopes to play a leading role in the initiative.

Japan plans to support a gradual transition to a zero-carbon society based on each country’s circumstances.

As areas for AZEC cooperation, the joint statement cited infrastructure investment, financial aid and standardization of decarbonization technologies.

Countries participating in the AZEC initiative will hold a ministerial meeting once a year in principle, as well as regular working-level talks.