Press Release
October 2023

The 32nd Clean Coal Day International Symposium (2023) Held in Japan“Challenge of Decarbonization Technology towards Zero Emission”
On Tuesday of September 5, 2023, Japan Carbon Frontier Organization (JCOAL), with co-organized by Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization(NEDO), Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security(JOGMEC), held the 32nd Clean Coal Day International Symposium as an in-person event, as supported by embassies of 11 countries locatedin Tokyo, including Australia, the 3 state governments of Canada and Australia, the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI), Ube City, and Kushiro City.
A total of 1,500 participants from 25 countries representatives’ industries, governments, and academia participated in the symposium. Thesymposium included presentations from the major coal-producing/consuming countries such as US, India, China, Australia, etc. as well as
relevant institutions and companies, and the international organizations such as the International Centre for Sustainable Carbon (IEA-ICSC),
the Global CCS Institute (GCCSI), the ASEAN Centre for Energy (ACE) and the vgbe energy e.V. (VGBE). Many active and fruitful discussions
were made with a variety of information and opinions. JCOAL has released JCOAL’s Statement below.

JCOAL’s STATEMENT

To date, coal has supported the foundations of society in the sectors of electricity, steel, cement, and chemicalengineering. Despite the varying energy situations among countries, the global consumption of coal reached arecord high in 2022, with coal still being used worldwide. As Japan has set the target year for Carbon Neutrality
in 2050, the world is now shifting towards carbon neutrality and is pursuing an energy transition from the useof fossil resources to the use of non-fossil resources.

Against this situation, the challenge of minimizing CO2 emissions with a view to achieving zero emissions output
is being driven by measures through the expansion of technology adaptation such as improving the efficiency
of coal-fired power generation, co-firing biomass and fuel ammonia in coal-fired power plants, and theconversion to dedicated thermal power generation. Furthermore, the industrial sectors that use coal are also
actively working to curb CO2 emissions through energy conservation and technological innovation.

To further promote zero emissions, in addition to the aforementioned initiatives, it is also important to socially
implement carbon capture and utilization (CCU) or carbon capture and storage (CCS) with cost considerations
taken into account. It is also essential to explore the practical application of hydrogen utilization and carbon
recycling technologies through sector coupling in existing industrial complexes and to consider the realizationof the establishment of a hydrogen society.

Meanwhile, as the path to carbon neutrality depends on actual conditions (natural, geopolitical, economic,
social, etc.) in each country, it is necessary to get through the energy transition period by identifying the optimalenergy choice and the best combination of technologies to meet these conditions. Transition finance support
is also critical for the deployment of the technologies needed during the transition period.

Carbon neutrality must be addressed on a global scale. To achieve the goal of carbon neutrality, it is imperative
to promote inter-technology, inter-company, and international cooperation to ensure that diverse energy
sources can be used appropriately.

*Presentation materials of the symposium were posted to the JCOAL website. https://www.jcoal.or.jp/eng/news/2023/1016.html*Contact Points -> International Collaboration Dept. TEL: +81-3-6402-6104
Director MURAKAMI (kzmurakami@jcoal.or.jp) / Assistant Secretary General FUJITA (fujita@jcoal.or.jp)