Readout of Secretary Granholm’s Visit to Japan for the G7 Energy, Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministerial Meeting

SAPPORO, JAPAN — From April 14 – April 16, 2023, Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm served as the Head of Delegation for the Energy Track of the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy, and the Environment. Through a series of bilateral and multilateral engagements, Secretary Granholm stressed that the transition towards clean energy will make the global energy market more resilient and secure.

The G7 Ministers’ communique delivered a strong message that the G7 remains in lock step on the most pressing global energy and climate challenges. This document sends an important signal to the rest of the world – from other governments, to industry, to civil society – that G7 nations are mobilizing to accelerate the decarbonization and diversification of our energy sources. 

Notably, G7 countries made the unprecedented commitment to accelerate the phase-out of unabated fossil fuels in all energy systems to achieve our 2050 net-zero goals and keep a limit of 1.5C within reach, providing a strong basis for advancing similar commitments from other major economies, in forums like the G20 and the COP. Additional outcomes include a new 5-point action plan on critical minerals, the announcement that all G7 parties are now joining the Conference on Critical Mineral and a collective effort to achieve a 150 GW increase in offshore wind deployment and an increase of 1 TW in solar PV deployment.

In addition to contributing to a productive G7 meeting that will help pave the way for a successful G20 Energy Transition Ministerial Meeting and COP28, Secretary Granholm made concrete progress with strategic international partners on our shared energy priorities.

• During a bilateral meeting with Minister Nishimura, Secretary Granholm agreed to deepen our collaboration on geothermal technology innovation and commercialization through a Memorandum of Cooperation between the U.S. Department of Energy and the Japan Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI).
• Secretary Granholm held productive bilateral discussions with France Minister of Energy Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and President-Designate for COP28 Dr. Sultan Al-Jaber, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps, and  Minister of Canada Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson.
• Secretary Granholm joined her counterparts from Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada to sign a joint statement on civil nuclear fuel cooperation.
• Secretary Granholm gave keynote remarks at the G7 Nuclear Forum, the first-ever business forum held on the margins of the G7 Ministers’ Meeting for Energy, Climate, Energy, and the Environment.
• Secretary Granholm toured the world’s first liquid hydrogen carrier ship, learning more about the groundbreaking technological advancements of the Suiso Frontier and highlighting the United States’ strong collaboration with Japan on hydrogen.