Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson and Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius are attending the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Climate, Energy and the Environment in Sapporo, Japan, April 14-17. Members of the College will also participate in other meetings in Japan during this period.
Energy transition and security at the heart of G7 climate and energy ministers’ discussions
Commissioner Sinkevičius has a busy schedule, including a meeting with Japan’s Minister of State for METI, Shinichi Nakatani, in Tokyo on Friday. He will also host an event on batteries at the EU delegation in Japan with industry players. Later that evening, he will attend the welcome dinner for G7 ministers in Sapporo on behalf of the Commission.
The G7 ministerial meeting will begin with a plenary meeting of climate, energy and environment ministers on Saturday morning. The afternoon meeting of environment ministers will focus on the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at COP15 last year, as well as on the circular economy, resource efficiency and pollution.
The subsequent meeting of climate and energy ministers will discuss the first Global Review under the Paris Agreement, the transition to clean energy, energy security, and climate change preparedness and resilience. The aim of the second plenary meeting of the ministers of climate, energy and environment on Sunday is to conclude with the adoption of a ministerial communiqué.
Ministers discuss implementation of Global Biodiversity Framework at G7
In addition to the official G7 agenda, Commissioner Simson will also have several bilateral meetings with other ministers. These include Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and Japan’s Minister of METI Yasutoshi Nishimura. On Sunday, she will visit a liquefied hydrogen carrier, the Suiso Frontier, at the port of Otaru.
In Sapporo, Commissioner Sinkevičius will also have several bilateral meetings with ministers. These include the UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Therese Coffey, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, Steven Guilbeault, and the US Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. On Monday, he will host an event on plastics at the EU delegation in Tokyo and will also meet with Japan’s METI Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura.
For example, the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Climate, Energy and the Environment, which takes place April 14-17 in Sapporo, Japan, will bring together ministers from different countries to discuss key issues related to climate change, energy and the environment. The meetings will cover a wide range of topics, including implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, the circular economy, resource efficiency, pollution, the transition to clean energy, energy security, and climate change preparedness and resilience.