Climate Change

Japan and Brazil, as Co-Chairs, have hosted the Informal Meeting on Further Actions against Climate Change (commonly known as the Japan-Brazil Informal Meeting) in Tokyo every year since 2002. The purpose of the meeting is to hold candid and informal discussions among chief negotiators and other officials from various countries. The Japan-Brazil Informal Meeting is recognized as one of the major meetings on climate change that serves as a good opportunity to look back at results of COP in the previous year and kick off each year’s discussions towards next COP.

• (1) Date: Thursday, March 14 and Friday, March 15
• (2) Venue: Tokyo International Exchange Center, Plaza Heisei (Tokyo)

• (3) Co-Chairs:

  (Japan) Ambassador, Mr. Hideo Suzuki, Assistant Vice-Minister and Director-General for Global Issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  (Brazil) Ambassador, Mr. Fabio Marzano, Vice-Minister for National Sovereignty and Citizenship Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(1) Participants (30 Parties and organizations):

Argentina, Australia, Belize, Bhutan, Brazil, Canada, Chile (COP25 Presidency), China, European Commission, France, Gabon, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Maldives, New Zealand, Norway, State of Palestine, Poland (COP24 Presidency), Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States

(2) Observers:

UN Secretariat, UNFCCC Secretariat, SBI and SBSTA Chairs and Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES)

(1) Session 1: Reflection on COP24

Expressing appreciation to the Polish presidency of COP24, many participants welcomed the adoption of the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement as a significant result. A number of participants pointed out that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (market mechanisms), on which agreement was not reached at COP24, should be discussed further. Importance of stocktaking of Pre-2020 ambition and implementation, Talanoa Dialogue, and scientific knowledge indicated in the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees centigrade was also mentioned.

(2) Session 2: Expectation for COP25

Regarding the climate change negotiation, most countries referred to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as an expected outcome for COP25. The Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with climate change impacts, reporting formats for the transparency framework, finance, and capacity building were also pointed out as important elements. Many participants underlined importance of ambition and action for implementation of the Paris Agreement.

(3) Session 3: Article 6 of the Paris Agreement (market mechanisms)

The participants discussed Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which continues to be under consideration for an adoption at COP25. Many of them welcomed the progress made at COP24 and underlined market mechanisms are necessary for ambitious mitigation and adaptation actions. Participation of the private sector, ensuring environmental integrity, and avoiding double counting were also mentioned as important elements. The participants discussed related parts of implementation guidelines for the transparency framework.

(4) Session 4: Means of Implementation - Facilitating the steady implementation of the Paris Agreement

The importance of climate funds for the steady implementation of the Paris Agreement was confirmed. The participants discussed how to enhance synergy among climate funds including Green Climate Fund (GCF) and how to improve the access to those funds. In addition, confirming that it is important to align finance flows including private finance with one of the purposes of the Paris Agreement, “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development”, the participants actively exchanged their views on the role of private finance in addressing climate change and its mobilization.

(5) Session 5: From Negotiation to Implementation - Action NOW

In light of the adoption of the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement at COP24 and full implementation of the agreement from 2020 onwards, the participants shared actions for implementation of the agreement and pointed out the importance of enhancing political momentum through related events including UN Climate Action Summit 2019. In addition, the participants discussed financial support and capacity building to implement the agreement, finance flows to mainstream climate actions, and Just Transition.

The meeting served as a fruitful opportunity for the participants to look back on outcomes of COP24 and deepen their mutual understanding on the negotiation agendas such as market mechanisms. In addition to discussions on climate change negotiations, it was a significant outcome to share challenges and solutions for the implementation of the Paris Agreement. Japan, as Co-Chair, stimulated candid discussions among the participants at the meeting and also contributed to the discussions through interventions as a participant including on the importance of market mechanisms and a virtuous cycle between environment and growth.