EU-Japan trade deal first to include Paris Agreement provision

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The EU and Japan held a summit this week, which concluded with the signing of a trade deal between the two economies. It is the first time a trade deal negotiated by the EU includes a provision on jointly working together on the Paris Agreement.

According to the joint statement made by Mr. Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, and Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, the actions resulting from the trade deal should respect the Paris climate Agreement. This includes the promotion of innovation, climate finance, development of sustainable energy technologies, and improvement of energy efficiency.

“In today's world, no country can think of tackling the global challenges that we are faced with on its own,” said the High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini ahead of the Summit.

“Japan is a country that we already work so closely with, on many files, from peace-building to denuclearisation, from counter-terrorism to effective multilateralism. The Strategic Partnership Agreement will allow us to strengthen this cooperation across a wide range of sectors, but also open up the possibility for cooperation in new areas, from science, technology and innovation, environment and energy, to climate change and security.”

Recently, the EU signed a deal with China on the cooperation on clean energy and emissions trading, indicating the EU’s intent to solidify an alliance for compliance with the Paris Agreement and overall clean energy policies.

Meanwhile, this February, the European Commission made a firm statement that future trade deals are contingent on Paris agreement membership. EU trade commissioner Celia Malmström tweeted, “Paris deal reference needed in all EU trade agreements,” on the occasion.

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