Climate advocates praise Japan for joining breakthrough steel plan
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CLIMATE ADVOCATES PRAISE JAPAN FOR JOINING
BREAKTHROUGH CLEAN STEEL PLAN
[Tokyo] – 3 November 2021 – A coalition of climate advocates and civil society organizations, including Mighty Earth, today welcome the signature of Japan to the “Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda” This commitment to deploy clean technology covers many tricky climate-intensive sectors, notably steel – which alone accounts for 7 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and is considered one of the more challenging sectors to decarbonise.
Announced at the Leaders’ Summit segment of the COP26 climate talks, the Glasgow Breakthrough Agenda is a commitment to work together internationally to accelerate the development and deployment of the clean technologies and sustainable solutions needed to meet the Paris Agreement goals, ensuring they are affordable and accessible for all. It states the need for near-zero emission steel as the preferred choice in global markets, with efficient use and near-zero emission steel production established and growing in every region by 2030.
Earlier this week, a group of civil society groups from across Australia, Japan and the Republic of South Korea encouraged their respective governments to sign on to the Breakthrough Agenda. The agreement could reduce the first movers’ risk for companies willing to decarbonise if government signatories agree to similar decarbonization timetables and announce national policies to assist with implementation.
Joojin Kim, managing director of Solutions for Our Climate said: “The steel sector accounts for more than 13% of Korea’s annual greenhouse gas emissions. We welcome the Republic of Korea committing to the Glasgow Breakthrough and look forward to seeing concrete policies that will support the sector’s decarbonisation.”
Roger Smith, Japan Director of Mighty Earth said: “To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, each country needs to begin the shift to low-carbon steel today. We welcome the commitment of the Government of Japan to the Breakthrough Agenda as we see tremendous potential for Japan to lead the way globally on material efficiency and the recycling and utilization of steel scrap.”
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Full list of signatories by country:
- Australia – Australian Conservation Foundation, Beyond Zero Emissions, Carbon Market Institute, Climate Action Network Australia, Green Building Council of Australia, Greenpeace Australia and Pacific
- Japan – Kiko Network, WWF Japan
- Republic of Korea – Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (Dangjin, Kwangyang and Pohang branches), Solutions for Our Climate
- International – Green Alliance, Greenpeace East Asia (Japan and Korea), Market Forces, Mighty Earth
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CONTACT
Roger Smith, Mighty Earth – [email protected]
ABOUT MIGHTY EARTH
Mighty Earth is a global environmental campaign organization that works to protect forests, conserve oceans, and address climate change. Learn more about their global steel campaign: www.mightyearth.org/steel
ABOUT CLIMATE CATALYST
Climate Catalyst is an international organisation focused on accelerating action on climate change through policy change. More information: www.climatecatalyst.org
