Transport ministers from 21 countries committed to promoting the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the sector to combat climate change, aiming to drive talks under a broader U.N. framework that is to agreed upon in December.

 

The announcement came on January 16, at the end of a three-day conference in Tokyo that brought together ministers from Australia, the United States, Russia and the European Union. China, one of the world’s top greenhouse gas polluters, pulled out of the meetings at the last minute.

 

Shipping, airline and inland transport together contribute upwards of 20 percent of emissions. Transport is expected to be a key part of a new U.N. climate pact, a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, that some 190 nations will try to agree on in December.

 

“It is quite important to send a message that we have the political will (to address the transport sector),” Japanese transport minister Kazuyoshi Kaneko told a news conference at the end of the gathering.