Asian Net Zero Emissions Community Summit | WPN World People News

The Asia Zero Net Emissions Consortium (AZEC), in which Japan, Australia and Southeast Asia participate, held its first summit in Tokyo, Japan, today and agreed on the principle of adopting diversified and realistic approaches to promote decarbonization through a joint statement.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun reports that one of the features of the joint statement adopted at the AZEC summit today is that it agrees to "(adopt) diversified and realistic paths" toward decarbonization; in addition to solar power and energy-saving technologies, the joint statement also touches on the "necessity of revitalizing the use of natural gas and nuclear power".

AZEC is established under the leadership of Japan, and will endeavor to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the beginning of the summit that Japan will be at the forefront of promoting the improvement of technology research and development and accelerating the introduction of the legal system, and that AZEC will create a command center for decarbonization in Asia in the future, and that the Japanese government will raise funds to set up an "Asian Net Zero Emissions Center" in the field of environment at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, an international think tank, to investigate and analyze the current energy situation and policies of various countries. AZEC will set up the Zero Net Emissions Asia Center (ZNEC), an international think tank, at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIEA), with funding from the Japanese government, to investigate and analyze the current state of energy and policies in each country.

With Japan proposing the creation of AZEC in 2022, and many countries in Southeast Asia still relying on fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas for power generation, and with demand for power generation expected to increase in some countries as a result of economic growth, the issue of how to minimize greenhouse gas emissions has become an important one.