METI Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida Attends the 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

1. COP 28

Date: From November 30 to December 12, 2023 (tentative)
Participating countries, etc.: 198 countries as parties to the UNFCCC

2. Delivering speeches at the seminar conducted at the Japan Pavilion

(1) Taking Action Together with ASEAN

• METI held an event on the Asian Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) concept titled Taking Action Together with ASEAN. At the beginning of the event, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida delivered his remarks, conveying the importance of energy transition through various/ pathways toward the common goal of net-zero emissions and Japan’s efforts across the Asian region, such as AZEC and CEFIA, including specific projects for energy conservation and renewable energy to support energy transition in the region.
• H.E. Mr. Arifin Tasrif, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia, and Mr. Watanabe Tetsuya, President, ERIA, attended the event and delivered their remarks. Following this, high-level government officials of Viet Nam, Indonesia, and Malaysia explained their efforts for decarbonization. 
• Japanese companies also described their efforts: forest protection by Oji Holdings Corporation, perovskite solar cells by Sekisui Chemical Co., Ltd., ammonia by IHI Corporation, and transition financing by MUFG Bank, Ltd. 

(2) The Role of Sovereign Bonds in Expanding GX Finance

• The Ministry of Finance (MOF), METI, and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) jointly held an event titled The Role of Sovereign Bonds in Expanding GX Finance. At the beginning of the event, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida delivered his remarks to convey Japan’s GX policies.
• A panel discussion was held following the presentations made by officials of the respective ministries on Japan’s GX policies. Joining the discussion were representatives of a Japanese securities companyand the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with experience in issuing green transition bonds and an overseas investment management office. They recognized the importance of transition finance and the need for ensuring credibility for further promotion and showed high expectations for the Japan Climate Transition Bonds. 

(3) Tech for Transition

• An event titled Tech for Transition was held, focusing on the technology-based transition to a net-zero society. At the beginning of the event, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida delivered his remarks to convey simultaneous achievement of net-zero emissions, economic growth and energy security, and importance of various pathways toward common goals, namely net zero emissions.
• Through presentations and a panel discussion by Japanese companies, representatives of Sumitomo Forestry Co., Ltd., Panasonic Holdings Corporation, and JEPLAN Inc. talked about the importance of technologies to make contributions to the mitigation of climate change and adaptation thereto visible and the significance of developing rules therefor.
• Representatives of IRENA and IEA explained reports that were prepared during the period of G7 Japan Presidency.
• An MOU concluded by startups in Japan and the UAE was showcased, and then an official of the COP 28 Secretariat (the UAE government) delivered remarks describing Japan-UAE cooperation in decarbonization technology.

3. Participating in events held by the COP 28 host country

(1) High-level roundtable on hydrogen

• The COP 28 Secretariat held an event aiming at the facilitation of international trade in hydrogen and derivatives and released a declaration of intent to prompt calls for action for international cooperation toward mutual recognition of clean hydrogen certification schemes. Japan, together with 39 other countries, took the lead in agreeing with the declaration.
• Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida stated that Japan will continue to contribute to the establishment of a global hydrogen society and that this is a significant step toward it. In addition, he talked with H.E. Mr. Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, Minister of Energy, UAE, at the venue and the two sides confirmed that Japan and the UAE are important partners.

(2) Roundtable on accelerating green demand

• The Industrial Deep Decarbonization Initiative (IDDI) coalition published a statement on green public procurement, aiming to create demand for green materials in hard-to-abate sectors. Japan, along with Canada and Germany, stated that it will proactively be engaged in green public procurement.
• Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida explained Japan’s ongoing efforts, showing that it has been taking progressive approaches. These include expansion of a list of items covered by the Act on Promoting Green Procurement, promotion of low-carbon concrete in public construction, and establishment of an expert council consisting of representatives of industrial players and experts in the field of public procurement.

• THE GREEN PUBLIC PROCUREMENT STATEMENT OF INTENT(PDF:635KB)

(3) Carbon Management Challenge

• The Carbon Management Challenge is an initiative to accelerate the development and deployment of technologies for carbon dioxide capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) and carbon dioxide removal (CDR). 
• Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida explained Japan’s efforts, including the formulation of a long-term CCS roadmap and a roadmap for carbon recycling, selection of role modelCCS projects, activities for the Asian CCUS Network, convening of meetings of the International Conference on Carbon Recycling, and research and development on CDR and discussions on developing rules therefor.

4. Talk with H.E. Dr. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, COP 28 President (Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE), and visit to the Startup Village

• Apart from the Japan Pavilion, a special site as part of COP 28 called the Startup Village was established, which represents a specific effort by the Japan-UAE Coordination Scheme For Advanced Technology (JU-CAT). Ten startups exhibited displays at the site. During the visit of COP28 President Jaber to the site, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida introduced representatives of JU-CAT to him and conveyed Japan’s expectations for the future development of Japan-UAE cooperation.
• Moreover, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida visited all the booths showcased by companies (1) to (5) below at the site as well as those by the companies exhibiting displays at the Japan Pavilion. The staff of the respective startups explained the details of their projects to him.

• Reference: Companies exhibiting displays at the Japan Pavilion

Reference: Companies exhibiting displays at the Startup Village
Companies (1) to (5): Exhibiting displays for the first half of the period (November 30 to December 6); Companies (6) to (10): Exhibiting displays for the second half of the period (December 8 to 12)

Company	Technology
(1) Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd.	On-site distributed production system for green ammonia
(2) JEPLAN Inc.	Technology for recycling PET bottles
(3) Alhytec Inc.	Device for recycling aluminum waste and device for producing hydrogen
(4) ArkEdge Space Inc.	Environmental monitoring (monitoring greenhouse gas emissions, offshore oil-fields and vegetation)
(5) WOTA Corporation	Household-scale, decentralized water recycling system that recycles all wastewater to portable quality, on-site.
(6) OOYOO Ltd.	Gas separation membrane technology for separating and purifying air and other gases
(7) Emulsion Flow Technologies Ltd.	Technology for recovering high purity critical metals from urban resources
(8) Algal Bio Co., Ltd.	Algae technology for carbon neutralization, functional food, feed ingredients, bioplastics, etc., based on proprietary algae strain library of 70 unique species and 500 strains.
(9) EF Polymer Corporation	100% natural and biodegradable super-absorbent polymer, made of agricultural wastes (e.g., orange peels), to help farmers with water scarcity
(10) Allied Carbon Solutions (ACS) Co., Ltd.	Sophorolipids, a natural surfactant made by fermenting vegetable oil and sugar

5. Japan Green Innovation Conference

• JETRO held an event titled the Japan Green Innovation Conference to explain Japanese companies’ decarbonization technologies. This event brought together about 100 people, including government dignitaries, such as H.E. Mr. Abdulla Al Saleh, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade, Ministry of Economy, UAE, and stakeholders of UAE companies in the fields of steel and aluminum. At the beginning of the event, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Yoshida delivered his remarks, stressing the importance of Japan-UAE cooperation in decarbonization technology and calling participants’ attention to the safety and good taste of Japanese scallops and other marine products.
• At the event, representatives of INPEX, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd., ITOCHU Corporation, Emirates Steel Arkan, Emirates Global Aluminium, and other organizations, as well as Tsubame BHB Co., Ltd. delivered speeches focusing on the subjects of [i] decarbonization in the oil and gas industries, [ii] decarbonization in the manufacturing industry, [iii] hydrogen, and [iv] startups.

6. Other major meetings that administrative officials attended

(1) Appropriate Evaluation of Avoided Emissions toward a Net-Zero Society

• At the Japan Pavilion, METI and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) jointly held an event titled Appropriate Evaluation of Avoided Emissions Toward a Net-Zero Society. Representatives of WBCSD and GX League delivered presentations and conveyed the importance of visualizing the contributions by companies that provide decarbonization solutions, which is not fully evaluated by their SCOPE 1-3 emissions, and  case examples of financial institutions’ use of companies’ avoided emissions in evaluating the companies. Following this, a panel discussion was held and participants, together with representatives of some global companies, including Schneider Electric, Veolia, Weir Minerals, Hitachi, Ltd., and Panasonic  Operational Excellence Co., as well as some financial institutions, including BlackRock, GFANZ, and Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., discussed approaches to rulemaking for avoided emissions.

(2) Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge

• On December 2, participants agreed that 118 countries, including the UAE, the EU, and Japan, will work together to globally triple renewable energy capacity and double the global average annual rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

Note: Later, the number of agreeing countries increased to 123 as of December 5.

• At the roundtable held on December 5, Japan stated that it will expand its renewable energy capacity by strengthening the grid infrastructure and that it will contribute to improving energy efficiency around the world through Japanese companies’ excellent energy-saving products.

• Global Renewables and Energy Efficiency Pledge(PDF:583KB)

(3) Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy

• On December 2, 22 countries,* including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, the UAE, and Japan, considered the important role of nuclear energy to achieve carbon neutrality worldwide and released a Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, including a cooperation policy toward the goal of tripling nuclear energy capacity from 2020 by 2050, recognizing the different domestic circumstances of each participant.

*Note: Later, Armenia agreed with the declaration and the number of agreeing countries increased to 23 as of December 7.

• Japan agreed with the declaration from the perspectives of contributing to the increase in global nuclear energy capacity through such efforts as supporting the introduction of advanced reactors in other countries considering the use of nuclear energy and enhancing the resilience of supply chains in cooperation with like-minded countries.

• Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy(PDF:363KB)

(4) The “Sapporo 5” Statement

• On December 7, ministries and agencies responsible for energy in five countries, Canada, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States released the “Sapporo 5” Statement as a joint statement on promoting investment in uranium enrichment and other areas, to implement the Statement on Civil Nuclear Fuel Cooperation between Canada, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States issued on April 16, 2023
• In particular, the countries declared that they recognize the need for resilient supply chains, including nuclear fuel, to provide safe and secure nuclear technologies and pursue at least 4.2 billion US dollars in investment in the five nations’ collective capacity for uranium enrichment and conversion over the next three years.

• The Sapporo 5 Statement(PDF:110KB)

Division in Charge

Global Environmental Affairs Office, Industrial Science, Technology and Environment Policy Bureau