December 15, 2022
On March 4 (Sat.), 2023, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will host the Asia Zero Emissions Community (AZEC) Ministerial Meeting.
Given the changes in the international environment for energy, it is important to push forward energy transition while taking into account different national circumstances so that Asian nations simultaneously secure the stable supply of energy, sustainable economic growth, and measures against climate change. The government of Japan (GOJ) and private sector are working together to promote efforts to achieve energy transition in Asia, and will accelerate them further.
Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Kishida announced the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) concept in January 2022 with the aim of sharing the philosophy of promoting decarbonization in Asian nations and cooperating to push forward energy transition.
Since then, the GOJ has been holding discussions with prime ministers, ministers, and other parties from relevant countries through various opportunities in order to realize the AZEC concept. Based on these discussions, on March 4 (Sat.), 2023, METI has decided to host the AZEC Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo among ministers from partner countries in charge of energy transition. There will also be a public-private investment forum on March 3 (Fri.).
The Ministerial Meeting will have discussions on challenges faced by Asian nations in order to achieve carbon neutrality and how to address them, as well as concrete efforts that are currently underway. Through discussions at the meeting, we will aim to accelerate formulation of clean energy projects, garner interest in transition finance around the world, reduce costs of implementing new technologies through support and policy coordination, and create and increase demand for decarbonization technologies.
International Affairs Division, Commissioner’s Secretariat, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.
Government of Japan