The 8th IEEJ/APERC International Energy Symposium
"Challenges for Carbon Neutrality and Energy Security -Searching for a realistic and pragmatic pathway- "

　As Dr. Fatih Birol, IEA’s Executive Director, has put it, the world is now in its “First truly global energy crisis”. Compared with the two oil crises of the 70’s, we are now facing crises of many forms of energies including oil, natural gas/LNG, and coal. Additionally, compared to the 70’s, when the affected countries were limited to the advanced economies that were the major players/actors in the world economy, today’s crisis is affecting the whole world from emerging/developing countries to advanced economies. This crisis has again highlighted the importance of energy security.

　On the other hand, with more than 150 countries officially pledging to achieve carbon neutrality by around mid-century, the world is already on board a journey toward carbon neutrality. At the recent COP27 in November 2022, the participating countries just reaffirmed their commitment to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under the globally accelerating efforts towards carbon neutrality, upstream investments for natural gas/LNG, a relatively low carbon fuel, have not been secured enough.

　As a consequence, over the past months, we have witnessed an extreme volatility in gas markets while for their energy security European majors have shifted away from Russia’s pipeline gas under the Ukraine crisis. To the contrary, several developing countries have shifted to an expanded use of coal, which has been relatively cheaper under the current global energy market. As such, the tough challenges on carbon neutrality and energy security is standing tall in our pathway.

　In this symposium, in order to redress the looming bottlenecks such as use of fossil fuels, supplies of critical materials, and Asian emerging countries’ sustainable economic growth, APERC and IEEJ will offer global stakeholders with viewpoints on a realistic and pragmatic pathway to carbon neutrality and energy security through discussions among prominent experts from various nationalities and backgrounds regarding the following topics:

　　✓　Smooth and orderly energy transition policies to balance out use of fossil fuels
　　✓　Bolstering supplies of critical materials for decarbonization technologies
　　✓　Asia’s initiatives for zero carbon emissions

　In order to explore these questions, prominent experts will discuss.

 

---

1. Date/Time: April 27th, 2023 (Thursday) 10:00-16:35 (in Japan Standard Time (JST))
　　　　　　　　● 10:00-10:05 Opening Remarks
　　　　　　　　● 10:05-11:35 Session 1
　　　　　　　　● 11:35-13:00 Lunch Break
　　　　　　　　● 13:00-14:30 Session 2
　　　　　　　　● 14:30-15:00 Coffee Break
　　　　　　　　● 15:00-16:30 Session 3
　　　　　　　　● 16:30-16:35 Closing Remarks

2. Seminar type: Hybrid (In Person/Online (ZOOM) meeting)
　■Venue：Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa (3-13-1 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan)
　　　　　Tel: +81-3447-1111　　https://www.princehotels.com/takanawa/location/
　■Online：Zoom

3. Theme of the Symposium：
　"Challenges for Carbon Neutrality and Energy Security -Searching for a realistic and pragmatic pathway-"

4. Program：(in Japan Standard Time)

＜AM＞

10:00-10:05	Opening Remarks: Mr. Tatsuya Terazawa,Chairman and CEO, IEEJ
10:05-11:35 Session 1 “Smooth and orderly energy transition policies in the context of optimum use of fossil fuels” What should be the future of the upstream investments in the pathway to the ongoing energy transition while the world, for the years to come, will continue relying on fossil fuels for energy security? What is needed to promote "decarbonization of fossil fuels" and the related investment in our energy transition?
	Presentation (15min/person ×3 persons), Panel Discussion & Q&A (45min) Presenter and Panelist： Mr. Fahad Alajlan, President, King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) , Saudi Arabia Dr. Kenneth Medlock III, Senior Director, Center for Energy Studies, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, USA *on-line Prof. Jonathan Stern, Distinguished Research Fellow, The Oxford Energy Institute for Energy Studies(OEIS), UK Moderator: Ken Koyama, Senior Managing Director and Chief Economist, IEEJ

　11：35-13：00　Lunch Break

＜PM＞

13:00-14:30 Session 2 “Bolstering supplies of critical materials for decarbonization technologies” How should a massive and balanced increase in supplies of critical materials be achieved? From the perspective of the best low-carbon technology mix, what policy supports and commercial activities will be required to diversify supplies, address material efficiency, and accelerate recycling?
	Presentation (15min/person ×3 persons), Panel Discussion & Q&A (45min) Presenter and Panelist： Dr.Michelle Foss, Fellow in Energy, Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, USA Mr. Takeshi Harada, Manager, Metals Strategy Department, Metals Unit, Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security（JOGMEC）, Japan Mr. Toru Muta, Senior Energy Analyst, International Energy Agency (IEA) Moderator: Mr.Glen Sweetnam, Senior Vice President, APERC
14:30-15:00	Coffee Break
15:00-16:30　 Session 3 “Energy transition in Asia” How should Asian emerging countries, the center of future economic growth, pursue both carbon neutrality and energy security in a comprehensive manner? For the purpose of not only lowering carbon intensity but also advancing energy security in Asia, how should a regional cooperation framework be developed while sustaining economic upheaval?
	Presentation (15min/person ×3 persons), Panel Discussion & Q&A (45min) Presenter and Panelist： Dr. Nuki Utama, Executive Director, ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) Ms. Jo Evans, Deputy Secretary at Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australia *on-line Mr. Izuru Kobayashi, Deputy Commissioner for International Affairs, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan Moderator: Yukari Yamashita, Managing Director, IEEJ
16:30-16:35	Closing Remarks: Kazutomo Irie, President, APERC

　Language・・・English / Japanese （simultaneous interpretation）

Contact:
　General Planning Group, Planning and Administration Unit, IEEJ
　　E-mail：ieej-mail@tky.ieej.or.jp