Bongbong Marcos asks Japan to back efforts for carbon neutrality

FILE PHOTO: Environmental activists gather outside the venue of the COP28 United Nations climate summit in Dubai on December 6, 2023. Almost 2,500 fossil fuel lobbyists, a summit record, have been accredited for the talks as negotiators wrestle with calls to end all new oil, gas and coal projects to curb global warming. Photo from AFP

TOKYO, Japan — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday urged Japan to bolster efforts to achieve carbon neutrality.

During his intervention at the first session of the 50th Commemorative Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit here, Marcos praised Japan as a consistent and reliable partner.

However, Japan is among the world’s leading greenhouse gas emitters, according to a United Nations report.

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“We call on Japan to support efforts towards achieving carbon neutrality to reduce the effects of global warming which will benefit our disaster-prone communities. We also call for climate action as we promote biodiversity management, green technologies, and circular economy, and the blue economy has also become an important part of that formula,” Marcos said.

The Philippines recently acquired a seat on the Loss and Damage Fund (LDF) board, which is a product of the United Nations-backed 2023 Climate Change Conference (COP28) held in Dubai. The LDF aims to aid countries disproportionately affected by global warming.

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“On the part of the Philippines, we are ready to support the concrete outcomes of the recent 28th Session of the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) or COP 28 in Dubai, particularly the creation of a Loss and Damage Fund, and we in the Philippines are open to host the Headquarters of the Board of the Fund,” Marcos pointed out.

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Marcos also previously said that he will appeal to countries within the Asia Zero Emission Community, including Japan and Australia, to invest in the Philippines’ renewable energy sector on the sidelines of the Asean Summit.