The U.S.-Japan Council partnered with the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan and the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation to host a webinar on Thursday, September 26 (JT), titled, ‘Direction that Japan’s carbon pricing should aim for — referring to examples from the EU and California.’
Carbon pricing (emissions trading system, ETS, carbon tax, etc.) is an effective tool for realizing a decarbonized society and has been introduced in the EU, California and the northeastern states of the USA, China, South Korea and other countries. Meanwhile, in Japan, a cabinet decision in February 2023 set the direction of the growth-oriented carbon pricing concept, which includes the full-scale operation of an emissions trading scheme from 2026, the introduction of paid auctions for power generators from 2033 and a carbon levy system from 2028. The design of the system is currently underway by the Japanese government. In this webinar, experts shared their experiences with the EU ETS and the California ETS, while the METI Deputy Director-General for Green Transformation Policy explained the current status of the system and discussed the ideal carbon pricing system for Japan, taking into account comments from relevant industries.
Speakers
Opening remarks
– Audrey Yamamoto, President & CEO, U.S.-Japan Council
– Toshiyuki Sakamoto, Board Member, Director, in charge of Climate Change & Energy Efficiency Unit, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
Presentations
– Takahiro Tajiri, Deputy Director-General for Green Transformation Policy, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
– Atsuko Watanabe, Senior Manager, Accenture Strategy & Consulting, Sustainability, Accenture Japan Ltd.
– Maja-Alexandra Dittel, Member of the Task Force for International Carbon Pricing and Markets Diplomacy, DG Climate Action, European Commission
– Andrei Marcu, Executive Director, European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition
– Danny Cullenward, Senior Fellow, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania; Senior Fellow, Institute for Responsible Carbon Removal, American University
– Hiroyuki Tezuka, Fellow, JFE Steel Corporation
Moderator
– Yasuo Tanabe, Managing Director Japan Side, the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Click here to watch the full recording.
USJC Senior Advisor and CEO of Global Link Lab, Inc. TANABE Yasuo (the moderator of the discussion) provided a summary and expert analysis. Click here to read his original piece in Japanese.
This webinar is part of the USJC Climate and Sustainability Initiative, supported by the initiative’s Founding Strategic Partner, Amazon.
