On 18th February 2025, the 2nd High-Level Dialogue on Climate Change between Japan and EU was held in Tokyo and both sides agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation and enhance their collaboration to achieve climate neutrality and tackle climate change-related challenges.
The meeting was co-chaired by Yutaka Matsuzawa, Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, and Kurt Vandenberghe, Director-General at the Directorate General for Climate Action at the European Commission.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate internationally under the Paris Agreement and promote climate action to keep the 1.5°C goal within reach, regardless of the changing international situation, including the announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. They also agreed to cooperate to make COP30 successful in Belém, Federative Republic of Brazil. Moreover, they agreed on promoting global decarbonization initiatives by cooperating in various international fora including the G7 and G20, and by promoting third-country cooperation.
Japan and EU exchanged views on areas of cooperation on climate policy, in particular carbon pricing and the carbon border adjustment mechanism, decarbonization technologies, sustainable finance and transition finance, and satellite utilization. They confirmed the commitment to mutually support each other to reach the objectives of their respective climate neutrality agendas.
