High level dialogue on Climate Change between the EU and Japan – Stepping up cooperation on climate policies

At the High Level Dialogue on Climate Change between the European Union and Japan, senior officials agreed to deepen their bilateral co-operation, work together towards achieving climate neutrality and tackling climate-related challenges.

The meeting was co-chaired by Kurt Vandenberghe – Director General at the Directorate General for Climate Action at the European Commission and Yutaka Matsuzawa, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs at the Japanese Ministry of Environment. The meeting took place in Turin, Italy, in the margins of the G7 Ministerial meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment.

During the dialogue, both sides reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the Paris Agreement and to the need to scale and speed up action in this decade, so as to reduce emissions to keep the limit of 1.5°C temperature rise within reach. In particular, they shared the view that the first Global Stock-take (GST) is a key milestone for enhancing global ambitious climate adaptation and mitigation in the coming years. Both sides therefore discussed the implementation of their current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and of the GST, as well as their respective plans for the next round of NDCs in 2025. Furthermore, they agreed on the need to co-operate further to ensure a successful COP29 in Baku later this year.

The EU and Japan referred to the first of its kind Green Alliance launched between the EU and Japan in May 2021 and reviewed the opportunities for further co-operation on climate policies.  As both sides stand ready to mutually support each other to reach the objectives of their respective climate neutrality agendas, they agreed to deepen co-operation with dedicated bilateral exchanges during the course of 2024 on climate modelling; on carbon pricing and carbon border adjustment measures; carbon markets; carbon capture use and storage; climate adaptation policies; sustainable finance (notably on due diligence reporting) and transition finance as well as climate action at sub-national level.