September 13, 2018

Partnership between America’s Pledge and Japan Climate Initiative to provide knowledge sharing and exchange of best practices in developing sub-national solutions to implement Paris Agreement

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – Today at the Global Climate Action Summit, the America’s Pledge initiative – co-chaired by UN Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael R. Bloomberg and California Governor Edmund G. Brown – announced a new partnership with the Japan Climate Initiative, a new collaboration between over 200 Japanese firms, local governments and civil society organizations dedicated to accelerating climate progress in Japan.

Together, America’s Pledge and the Japan Climate Initiative will gather learnings, collect data, and share strategies for how to best employ the potential of city, state and business action to curb greenhouse emissions.

“Local governments and the private sector are driving progress on climate change in the U.S. and around the world – and the America’s Pledge model gives them data and resources to accelerate that progress and help successful strategies to spread,” said Bloomberg, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Climate Action and Co-Chair of America’s Pledge. “It’s encouraging to see this approach spreading to other countries, and we welcome this partnership with Japan – one of the world’s largest economies and a leader in technological innovation.”

Both Japan and the United States have witnessed unprecedented climate phenomena just this year. Most notably, wildfires made worse by climate change have raged across California, and record heat waves and strong typhoon as well as unusual rainfall in Japan have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people across Japan this summer. Working together, America’s Pledge and the Japan Climate Initiative will identify near-term opportunities for accelerated action that can mitigate the worst impacts of a changing climate.

“Japan Climate Initiative greatly welcomes our partnership with America’s Pledge. Our collaboration will become one of the global driving forces towards a decarbonized society”, said Takejiro Sueyoshi, leading advocate for Japan Climate Initiative and Special Advisor to UNEP Finance Initiative in the Asia Pacific region.

Created in response to President Trump’s decision last year to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, America’s Pledge and the affiliated “We Are Still In” network capture the thousands of different U.S. city, state, and business actions that together can help to fulfill the country’s commitment under the Paris Agreement. Since its inception, the America’s Pledge initiative has released two reports to the United Nations detailing the progress non-federal actors are making towards the United States’ Nationally Determined Contribution and plans to continue serving as the reporting entity to the UN in the absence of federal climate leadership.

Just over a year later, more than 200 Japanese firms, local governments, and private groups announced their commitment to the Japan Climate Initiative, which parallels the America’s Pledge model in harnessing the collective power of private businesses and local governments to reduce emissions and fight climate change. The partnership will amplify new ideas and business collaborations among actors and will enhance the interest of Japanese non-state actors to join the Initiative which is growing towards the Japan Climate Action Summit held October 12^th in Tokyo later this year. It will also generate momentum in run up to the Japan’s G20 Presidency next year to stress the importance of climate action from Japanese and US non-state actors.

The two parties to the MOU believe that the independent emergence of very similar, business and local government mobilizations for climate action in countries as different economically and politically as the United States and Japan signals the opportunity for the global emergence of such new forces for climate change solutions.  Working together, the Japan Climate Initiative and America’s pledge will support and assist similar endeavors as they emerge around the globe.

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About America’s Pledge
Spearheaded by UN Special Envoy for Climate Action Michael R. Bloomberg and California Governor Edmund G. Brown, America’s Pledge brings together the work of U.S. cities, states, businesses, and other non-federal actors who have committed to continuing to work towards our Paris Agreement goals, with or without federal leadership.

About the Japan Climate Initiative
The Japan Climate Initiative is a coalition comprised of over 200 non-federal actors, including some of Japan’s largest businesses and local governments, that are dedicated to helping lead the country towards meeting its Paris goals. The initiative aims to share insights and best practices in developing innovative solutions to curb Japan’s emissions, working in tandem with the country’s national efforts to be a leading force in global efforts to fight climate change.