Mapping the Energy Future

This episode is talking about “CBAM vs. International Trade”. After a three-month deadline extension, the EU’s CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) is just about to complete its first quarterly reporting of the transitional period. As CBAM’s full implementation is scheduled for January 1st 2026, Mr. Terazawa believe it is time to assess its potential impact on international trade and to adopt necessary measures needed to address any negative impacts.

This episode is talking about “Pause on Pending Approvals of LNG Exports: Problems that need to be addressed”. On January 26, the Biden Administration announced a pause to the LNG export authorization process to non-FTA countries. It came as a big shock to LNG importing countries such as Japan. The responses in the US were mixed. Some experts, including those in the US administration, argue that the impact of the pause is very limited while other may consider it as sending the wrong message to the market. Mr. Terazawa, CEO, IEEJ, believe that we must investigate the reasoning behind these differences.

This episode is talking about “The gap between aspiration and reality for carbon neutrality”. G7 members’ GHG reduction is off- track from NDCs & carbon neutrality paths, and energy intensity improvement is off-track from the IEA-NZE scenario. Such gap between aspiration and reality for carbon neutrality necessitates “Plan B”. Mr. Terazawa, CEO, IEEJ, will talk about need for preparing for “Plan B”.

This episode is talking about “Progress Report of Japan’s GX Strategy”. One year has passed since Prime Minister Kishida announced Japan’s GX (Green Transformation) Strategy in December 2022. Mr. Terazawa, CEO, IEEJ, will share the progress made so far.

This episode is talking about “COP 28: Inclusiveness, Breadth, Challenges”. The international press focused on the reference to fossil fuels in the COP 28 final document and was relieved to find a compromise was reached on the language through the use of the expression “transitioning away from fossil fuels”. But there were a lot more in the COP 28 that deserve attention.

This episode is talking about “Demand Side Approaches to Critical Minerals”. As the world pursues its energy transition towards carbon neutrality, we cannot avoid discussing and sufficiently stressing the importance of critical minerals. Concerns are rapidly rising over the sufficiency of their supply and concentration of suppliers. So far, measures to tackle these concerns have largely been addressing the supply side. Why are we not looking into measures to adjust the demand side as well?

This episode is talking about “Long transition with uncertainties”.　IEEJ recently published its official annual global energy outlook for 2050. This is a forecast based outlook, not a back-cast based outlook such as the NZE scenario by IEA. What is most likely to happen based on a set of reasonable and well-grounded assumptions as portrayed by forecast outlooks may be quite different from what needs to happen to realize a pre-determined objective, such as carbon neutrality by 2050, as portrayed by back-cast outlooks.

This episode is talking about “The rare earths embargo of 2010 and its lessons”. There are strong interests in the need to enhance the resilience of the supply chains of critical minerals these days. This point was clearly emphasized in both the G7 and G20 Leaders’ Declaration. A high-level international conference on critical minerals to which many ministers participated has just been hosted by IEA, on September 28.

This episode is talking about “G20 New Delhi: Accomplishments and remaining issues”. The G20’s New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration was announced on September 10. In the absence of President Putin and President Xi, the international media, as expected, was quick to highlight the tension and divergent views over the Ukraine conflict. Consequently, the messages from the Declaration concerning energy/environment did not receive near the attention they deserved. With the participation of leaders from both the West and the Global South, the G20 can be considered as an international forum representative of the basic global direction.

This episode is talking about “G20: The voice of the Global South in energy policy”. The G20 Energy Transitions Ministers’ Meeting in Goa, India produced its Outcome Document and Chair’s Summary on July 22. The comparison between those documents and the content of the G7 Hiroshima Summit Communiqué that was released last May, deserves close attention. The discussion among energy think tanks from ASEAN, East Asia and India that took place in New Delhi just before the Ministers’ Meeting, was also of interest and very informative. That workshop was organized by the Energy Research Institute Network (ERIN), and co-organized by ERIA and TERI. In brief, the voice of the Global South was expressed in those two events far more clearly than during the G7 Summit.

This episode is talking about “Why are energy outlooks so different? It is the demand!”. There are as many long-term energy and emissions outlooks for the future as there are organizations that prepare them. The results could differ dramatically. When governments and companies rely on outlooks to support their policy and investment decisions, such wide variations in results raise concerns. Why are they so different? Mr. Terazawa provides an explanation on several points from energy outlooks.

This episode is talking about “8th OPEC International Seminar in Vienna, Austria”. The seminar included a special session, four Ministerial Sessions and six High-level Roundtables. Regarding the OPEC seminar, Dr. Koyama summarizes the important points, and briefly touches on the OPEC Award.

This episode is talking about “Japan’s Second Hydrogen Strategy”. Japan’s second hydrogen strategy was decided and announced on June 6th, 2023. The first strategy, formulated in December 2017 by the Japanese Government, was in fact the first strategy released in the world by any national government. Three roadmaps have been prepared to complement the first strategy. Similar strategies were later introduced by other countries. Considering the pioneering role of Japan’s first hydrogen strategy, this second one is also worthy of attention. Mr. Terazawa explores some of the details of Japan’s second hydrogen strategy.

This episode is talking about the following question, “Is Europe's Natural Gas Crisis over?”. Based on the exchange of opinions during his business trip to Europe last week, Dr. Koyama speaks issues related to the European gas crisis that shook the international energy market last year.

This episode is talking about “G7 Ministerial Communiqué”. The G7 Ministers of Climate, Energy and Environment met in Sapporo on April 15 & 16 and issued their communiqué on April 16. This communiqué provides one of the major building blocks for the G7 Leaders’ Meeting which will be held in Hiroshima on May 20 & 21. Mr. Terazawa highlights several points from the communique.

This episode is talking about “Energy Transition and the Importance of Industrial Policy”. Dr. Koyama will panoramically review Japanese, North American and European conditions regarding the topic looming as a key matter of concern to the world.

This episode is talking about “The need to integrate Economic Security and Global Climate Change policies”. These days, economic security and global climate change are often cited as the two most important issues. Yet, the two issues are addressed separately without meaningful coordination between the adopted policies. The world needs to integrate these two issues.

This episode is talking about “Why Energy Efficiency?”. For many, pursuing energy efficiency is not as attractive as developing renewable energies. While you can see the tall towers of wind power generation, you cannot easily appreciate most of the energy efficiency measures that have been introduced. Even if energy efficiency is considered less attractive, it does not mean that it is not as important as renewables. In fact, energy efficiency could and should play a major role in our paths towards carbon neutrality.

This episode is talking about “44th IAEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia”. For the first time, the IAEE held its prestigious annual international conference in the Middle East from February 4-9, 2023. The event addressed critical topics under the theme “Pathways to a clean, stable, and sustainable energy future”. 

This episode is talking about “50 years after the First Oil Crisis”. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the First Oil Crisis that took place in 1973. As we are again in the middle of a global energy crisis, it is important to look back to 1973 and draw lessons that can be incorporated into our response to the current crisis.

This episode is talking about “What is GX?”. The Japanese Government recently launched a policy package that will lead the energy/industry transformation for the next 10 years. And that is called the GX (Green Transformation) Roadmap. Mr. Terazawa, CEO, IEEJ, will give us a brief overview of Japan’s latest policy package, GX.