Japan's Suga Informs UN Chief Of Tokyo's Goals To Make Country Carbon Neutral By 2050

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 27th October, 2020) Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday held a telephone conversation, during which the sides discussed Tokyo's goal to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050 and a number of other related issues, as well COVID-19 response, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

On Monday, Suga announced the new environmental target during his first keynote address to the country's parliament. Under the previous government plan announced back in 2018, Japan was expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050.

"Prime Minister Suga also announced that Japan will participate in the Climate Ambition Alliance, which is promoted by Secretary-General Guterres. In return, Secretary-General Guterres stated that he sincerely welcomes, highly appreciates, and fully supports the courageous decision presented in the speech," the ministry said in a statement.

During the phone talks, the Japanese prime minister also noted that Tokyo would continue to cooperate with the United Nations on the global COVID-19 response.