{
  "id": 19309330,
  "title": "Japan to use COP31 to showcase environmental technologies",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/japan-to-use-cop31-to-showcase-environmental-technologies",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-11-10T08:31:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/11/10/japan/politics/cop31-japan-technologies/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "COP31, the annual international climate change conference, commenced on Monday in Antalya, Turkey. While Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will not partake in the event, Japan is utilizing the conference to exhibit environmental technologies aimed at attaining the electrification target set for 2035. Turkey, as the host of COP31, is advocating a collective global objective to elevate the share of final energy demand from electricity from its current level of around 20% to 35% by 2035. This target, derived from assessments by the International Energy Agency and the International Renewable Energy Agency, is intended to facilitate the execution of the Paris Agreement and aid in adhering to a trajectory that keeps global warming within 1.5 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels.\n\nJapan's Environment Ministry's COP31 Japan Pavilion highlights Japanese firms that contribute a range of advanced environmental technologies to augment electrification, encompassing perovskite solar cells. These cells are lightweight, flexible, and can be installed in areas where traditional solar cells are impractical to deploy. Iodine constitutes the principal material for the production of perovskite solar cells, with Japan holding the second-largest share in global production, approximately 30%.\n\nPrime Minister Takaichi, while absent from the conference, perceives perovskite solar cells as a pivotal component of Japan's forthcoming energy policy. Kenichiro Yamaguchi of the Mitsubishi Research Institute posits that while conventional solar power generation is predominantly controlled by China, the emphasis will gravitate towards innovative technologies such as perovskite solar cells. Energy conservation, carbon capture and storage, and waste reduction technologies are other initiatives Japan is promoting at COP31. The delegation is overseen by Environment Minister Hiroyoshi Sasagawa, following Takaichi's decision to refrain from attending, citing a packed domestic agenda to participate in the parliamentary discussion on the tax cut bill. This marks the third consecutive year a Japanese prime minister has been absent from the summit. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara shared with reporters that only three prime ministers have graced the climate summits over the past three decades. Yamaguchi notes that past summits have frequently witnessed the absence of the prime minister, typically, the head of the Japanese negotiating team, usually the environment minister, assumes the role. When the prime minister is present, the conference functions as a forum for diplomacy that transcends climate change, potentially diverting discussions from specific business matters. However, if the prime minister does not participate, it could become challenging to advance significant initiatives such as economic cooperation that facilitates the dissemination of Japanese technology.",
  "summary": "A key goal of the conference is to increase the world's electrification to 35% by 2035.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}