Recommendationsof theEU-Japan Business Round Table
to the Leaders of the European Union and Japan
Rome, 28 & 29 April 2011

Working Party E
Environment and Sustainable Development

Working Party Leaders:

Rémy AUTEBERT
Senior Executive Vice-President
AREVA;
President
AREVA Japan Co., Ltd.

Hajime SASAKI
Executive Advisor
NEC Corporation

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Environment and Sustainable Development
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List of Abbreviations
Abbreviation
CCS
EIB
EBRD
EITI
ETS
EU
EV
GHG
IAEA
ISDR
NEA
NGO
OECD
PHV
UN-ECE
WP

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Meaning
Carbon Capture and Sequestration
European Investment Bank
European Bank for Reconstruction
and Development
Extractive Industries Transparency
Initiative
Emissions Trading System
European Union
Electric Vehicle
Greenhouse Gas
International Atomic Energy Agency
International Strategy for Disaster
Reduction
Nuclear Energy Agency
Non-Governmental Organization
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
Working PartyRecommendations from Both
European and Japanese Industries
Natural Disasters and Safety Measures
WP-E / # 01 / EJ to EJ: Identification and prevention measures for natural risks
The EU and Japan should put in place appropriate mechanisms to identify thepotential risks of natural disasters and the probability of their occurrence, andobjectively verify their impact. Cost-effective measures should be taken to preventand reduce the consequences of these risks.
WP-E / # 02 / EJ to EJ: Facilitating international support in case of disaster
International support is indispensable in times of a major natural disaster. The
necessary measures need to be adopted to facilitate the swift acceptance of support
from overseas.

WP-E / # 03 / EJ to EJ: Independent assessment of Fukushima accident
With regard to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, we call strongly
for the independent, objective, and immediate verification of the situation. In addition,
we believe that the EU and Japan should promote discussions on improving thesafety of nuclear energy in international fora.
<Background>
Natural disasters inflict crippling social, economic, and environmental damage.
According to the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR),
373 natural disasters occurred across the globe in 2010. The economic loss fromnatural disasters is particularly high for developing countries. This loss has become amajor obstacle to sustainable development.
The Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, and the accompanying
tsunami caused great damage to the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The extent of damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami, as well as thesituation at the crippled nuclear power plant, need to be verified objectively andindependently before appropriate measures can be taken. We urge the Japanese
government to commission such an evaluation and to swiftly implement appropriate
measures to respond to this natural disaster.

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Alternative and Renewable Energies
WP-E / # 04 / EJ to EJ: Enhancing high-level EU-Japan dialogue on energy
The EU and Japan should enhance their dialogue on energy policy, including the setup of a dedicated high-level dialogue on nuclear energy.
WP-E / # 05 / EJ to EJ: Leadership role to establish world safety standards
The EU and Japan should take a proactive, leading role in supporting theestablishment of world safety standards for nuclear power plants through the
Ministerial Conference, the IAEA,… and more generally promote international
cooperation on nuclear energy.
WP-E / # 06 / EJ to EJ: Nurturing skilled independent nuclear safety authority
Japan and EU member countries should maintain a highly skilled nuclear safety
authority in each country and ensure its independence.
WP-E / # 07 / EJ to EJ:

Cooperation on renewable energy development

Japan and the EU should cooperate on the development of renewable energies,
such as wind and photovoltaic power generation, and on other low-carbon

WP-E / # 08 / EJ to EJ: Promoting reciprocal access to R&D facilities
The EU and Japan should support joint R&D activities or mutual access to unique,capital intensive R&D facilities located in either the EU or Japan.
WP-E / # 09 / EJ to EJ: Sharing best practices for safety and regulation withemerging nuclear power countries
The EU and Japan should position nuclear power as an alternative energy andprovide assistance to each other and to other countries, giving priority to sharing
best practices in the fields of regulation and safety. The EU and Japan need toeffectively support emerging nuclear power countries through a combination ofbilateral, regional, and cooperative activities through international organisations.

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WP-E / # 10 / EJ to EJ: Promoting involvement of international institutions tofinance capacity-building actions for nuclear safety
To achieve a high level of safety, Japan and the EU should encourage the World
Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and theEuropean Investment Bank (EIB) to allocate funds for, and to promote theestablishment of, dedicated nuclear safety programmes.
WP-E / # 11 / EJ to EJ: Ensuring fair competition in exports
The EU and Japan need to create equally competitive fields for export industries,
including fulfilment of world safety standards, and strictly adhere to the OECD’s
Arrangement to Officially Support Export Credits. The EU and Japan should request
other countries to make every effort to also adhere to these provisions.

WP-E / # 12 / EJ to EJ: Fostering international harmonization for EV safety andcharging infrastructure
The EU and Japan should work together in UN-ECE WP 29 and other fora to developinternationally harmonized requirements for the safety and type approval ofelectrically charged vehicles and common standards for accessing the batterycharging infrastructure.

WP-E / # 13 / EJ to EJ: Cooperating on pre-commercial development ofbatteries
The EU and Japan should seek opportunities for partnerships between governments
and research institutes to develop pre-competitive technologies for next-generation
batteries (e.g., for lowering cost, improving battery life, enhancing safety, and raisingenergy density).

WP-E / # 14 / EJ to EJ: Sharing best practices for reuse and recycling ofbatteries
The EU and Japan should share best practices with respect to the reuse andrecycling of rechargeable batteries to enhance their secondary use.

WP-E / # 15 / EJ to EJ: Promoting demo projects of smart cities and smart
grids
The EU and Japan should promote demonstration experiments of smart cities andsmart grids with respect to rechargeable batteries and related products and should
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provide open access to allow each other’s industry to participate in such
experiments.
< Background >As an alternative energy with a stable energy supply, excellent economic potential,
and zero CO2 emissions, nuclear energy is being reassessed by nations around theworld. The serious accident at Fukushima’s nuclear power plant, following thedramatic tsunami that struck Japan on 11 March 2011 also triggered a reassessment of the safety measures and emergency response systems of nuclear
power by all nations using or contemplating the use of nuclear energy.
Rising Expectations for Nuclear Energy calls for a Strengthened Safety Framework
According to the Nuclear Energy Agency of the OECD (OECD-NEA), nuclear power
accounted for 14% of global electricity production in 2009. This figure is expected torise to 24% by 2050. As of January 2010, the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) estimated that 437 nuclear power reactors were in operation worldwide, while
a total of 56 reactors were under construction.
“The Nuclear Energy National Plan”, which was adopted by Japan in 2005, statesthat Japan expects nuclear power generation to continue to account for at least its
present level of 30 to 40% of total power generation beyond 2030. “Energy 2020: A
Strategy for Competitive, Sustainable and Secure Energy”, an initiative announced
by the EU in November 2010, says that the EU will intensify joint efforts by member
states to finance activities related to technology roadmaps, including nuclear fission,from 2010 to 2020. More recently, the EU also issued a “Roadmap for moving to acompetitive low carbon economy by 2050”; in this long term vision, the roadmap calls
for a reduction of up to 95% of the CO2 emissions of the power sector, and highlightsthat it can be achieved by using renewable energies as well as nuclear energy.
There is also a growing interest in nuclear power generation in developing countries
to prevent dependence on fossil fuels, and a continuous stream of construction
projects for nuclear power plants is underway. These drivers will remain.
However, nuclear energy requires the highest safety standards. A lot has been done
for several years at the national level, at the EU level, and at the international level(IAEA, Convention on Nuclear Safety,…). The industry has significantly improved thesafety of its current reactor design. Now, the accident at Fukushima, caused by anextreme situation, demonstrates that safety must be continuously improved. The
review launched in Japan, as well as in the EU (a “stress test”), to assess theconsequences on existing nuclear power plants is welcome. The EU stress test will
focus on risks associated with earthquakes, floods, cooling systems, back-up
power,….
As nuclear power will remain an attractive energy source for a large number ofcountries in the world (contribution to energy security and a low-carbon society), it iseven more important to define world safety standards. The EU and Japan must play
an active role in promoting and defining such standards.

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While enhancing safety, it will be necessary to deal with the ageing of existing plants,
improve facility utilization rates, and properly manage the nuclear fuel cycle (e.g., themanagement of spent nuclear fuel). It will be essential to understand the mechanismof degradation of machinery and equipment as well as to conduct maintenance ofageing plants to maintain and restore their functions and performance. Therefore, theEU and Japan must promote, through international discussions like those held by theOECD-NEA, the exchange of information related to the technological assessment ofageing plants and to techniques associated with the appropriate maintenance ofexisting plants. As for the management of spent fuel, the recovery and recycling ofplutonium and uranium remaining in spent nuclear fuel will lead to the effective use ofresources and reductions in radioactive waste.
Rising Expectations for Rechargeable Batteries
Both the EU and Japan are developing next-generation lithium-ion rechargeable
batteries. The rechargeable battery is a potential key component in the developmentof smart grids worldwide, such as the “Smart City Project” in Japan, as well as agroundbreaking advanced application technology contributing to the promotion ofrenewable energy.
When used in a smart grid, rechargeable batteries can be placed at stations forlarge-scale photovoltaic or wind-power generation. They can also be installed incommercial districts and large-scale apartment housing complexes to store off-peakelectricity.
Rechargeable batteries are used in the electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles being
developed and promoted by Japanese and European car manufacturers. European
and Japanese industry is actively seeking to improve the performance and cost of
next-generation vehicle batteries to enable the more widespread use of EVs andPHVs.
The commercialization of next-generation electrically charged vehicles, including
fuel-cell vehicles, will contribute to the conservation of energy, as well as a reduction
in CO2 emissions. To facilitate their market acceptance, the EU and Japan should
cooperate on developing internationally harmonized requirements for the typeapproval and safety of electrically charged vehicles and common standards foraccessing the battery-charging infrastructure. The objective should be to ensure thatelectric vehicles can be charged everywhere, at all times.
Securing Supplies of Rare-Metal Resources and Other Raw Materials
WP-E / # 16 / EJ to EJ: Promoting level playing field for access to raw materials
The EU and Japan should promote a level playing field for access to raw materials.
In this respect, they should identify common actions to take in international fora suchas the OECD and WTO in order to promote a coherent set of rules on access to raw
materials in their bilateral relations as well as in multilateral negotiations, including
WTO membership negotiations.
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WP-E / # 17 / EJ to EJ: Requesting practical commitment on governance
The EU and Japan should engage in partnerships with countries endowed withnatural resources. In their development policies, they should promote theimprovements of the governance of resource-producing countries by requesting
specific commitments to effective natural-resource management in governanceaction plans and the strict enforcement of budget-support criteria. In addition,
investments in infrastructure and actions to enhance a favourable businessenvironment should be promoted.
WP-E / # 18 / EJ to EJ: Promoting adhesion and enforcement of EITIThe EU and Japan should work closely with other governments, industrial bodies,and NGOs to enable resource-producing countries to fulfil the EITI’s “Principles andCriteria” and to advance from candidate to compliant EITI countries.

WP-E / # 19 / EJ to EJ: Following OECD guidelines when operating in or
procuring minerals from conflict-affected area
The EU and Japan should prevent resource development from funding conflicts.
When developing open and responsible supply chains, governments and industries
should cooperate with each other to adopt acceptable and viable approaches andprocesses. The OECD’s guidance for responsible supply-chain management ofminerals from conflict-affected and high-risk areas provides a good basis.
WP-E/ # 20 / EJ to EJ: Promoting action to minimize commodity price volatility
Japan and the EU should strive to reduce excessive price volatility in commodity
markets and should accordingly identify common actions to take in international fora.
WP-E/ # 21 / EJ to EJ: Supporting R&D for recycling and material substitution
Japan and the EU should encourage the recycling of raw materials in developed
countries through R&D, industrial policy, and international cooperation as well as
promote research aimed at the substitution of critical raw materials.
< Background >The rising cost, price volatility, and unstable supply of raw materials are a concern for
European and Japan business. The policies of resource-rich countries can alleviate
or exacerbate such a concern. Stable access to rare metals is critical to expanding
the production of rechargeable batteries, as well as to several other industries.
There are diversified sources of supply of positive-electrode materials such aslithium, manganese, cobalt, and nickel used for rechargeable batteries. However,some other rare earths are currently only available from China. The EU and Japan
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should reinforce their efforts to diversify their sources of supply and to secure astable supply of rare metals.
The Escalation of International Competition
The rapidly growing demand for energy and natural resources mainly comes fromdeveloping countries, notably China and India. International competition to secureenergy and natural resources is intensifying. Moreover, raw-material and energyaccess diplomacy has been on the rise and has the potential to distort markets.
The inflow of financial funds has contributed to the price volatility of major mineral
resources. The mining regulations and trade policies of the resource-rich countries
can heavily influence the availability and price of some raw materials.
All these developments put pressure on the competitiveness and stable andprofitable development of Japanese and European industry. Rapidly rising raw
material prices could adversely affect corporate profits and the world economic
recovery. Commodity-price volatility in the agricultural sector is also a threat to global
growth and food security.
Responsible Development of Natural Resources
The “Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative” (EITI) adopted at the “World
Summit for Sustainable Development” in Johannesburg in 2002 sought to promote
the responsible development of natural resources by increasing the transparency of
payments made by companies to government and government-linked entities in theextractive sectors. With good governance, these natural resources can generatelarge revenues that governments of resource-rich countries can use to foster
economic recovery and reduce poverty. However, when governance is weak,
revenues may be squandered, creating a downward spiral of poverty, corruption,
conflict, and the unsustainable development of minerals and resources. As of
November 2010, only five countries were EITI-compliant, and 28 others had achieved
EITI-candidate status. In several other countries, there are concerns that the revenue
generated by natural resources is funnelled to funding conflicts. European andJapanese business can support the EITI objectives by implementing the open andresponsible supply-chain management of resources. At the government level, the EU
and Japan should pursue common strategies to keep energy and mineral markets
open, undistorted, and stable.

Global-Warming Issues
WP-E/ # 22 / EJ to EJ: Establishing new, fair, and effective internationalframework
The EU and Japan should promote a post-Kyoto framework that engages all major
emitters of greenhouse gases to take a fair share of the burden of global CO2
emission stabilization and reduction.
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WP-E/ # 23 / EJ to EJ: Setting CO2 emission targets in a fair and transparent
way
The EU and Japan, when setting national targets, should take into account theirinternational fairness, feasibility, and social impact on citizens. The setting of suchtargets should be done with a high level of transparency and in consultation withstakeholders.
WP-E/ # 24 / EJ to EJ: Facilitating transfers of green technologies
The EU and Japan should assist emerging economies in developing the necessary
human resources and infrastructure so that they can smoothly absorb advanced
technologies. To facilitate the transfer of technologies on a commercial basis, the EU
and Japan should support the recipient countries in putting in place an appropriate
regulatory framework and enforcement tools to ensure the protection of intellectual
property rights.

WP-E/ # 25 / EJ to EJ: Continuously improving incentives and regulations topromote adoption of energy-efficient technologies and processes
The EU and Japan should continue to refine their regulations and incentives topromote the efficient use of energy (energy efficiency as well as energy savings).
Setting norms for building and house insulation plays a major role in achieving asignificant reduction in CO2 emissions. Japan and the EU should also share bestpractices for eco-labelling.

WP-E/ # 26 / EJ to EJ: Cooperation on long-term innovative R&D projects to
reduce GHG emissions
The EU and Japan should cooperate on joint R&D efforts by industry, academia, andgovernment to develop innovative technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
They should also allow access by their industries to their domestic pre-competitive,
government-funded research projects because highly innovative technologies require
lengthy timelines and very large budgets for basic research and development,< Background >There is an urgent need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to combat climatechange. It is essential to establish a new, fair, and effective international frameworkwith the participation of all major emitters. Designing such an international frameworkand setting targets at the national level must be done with due consideration for theirshort and mid-term economic impact, and take into account the opportunities andconstraints of the global economy.
The Nippon Keidanren’s “Commitment to a Low Carbon Society” sets out a vision for
the Japanese business community to harness its technological prowess and assume
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an instrumental role in achieving the target of halving global emissions of greenhousegases (GHGs). It also requests its members to come up with voluntary energy plansin line with government targets.
The EU introduced the “EU Emissions Trading System” (EU ETS) in 2005 to tackle
emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. It is now in Phase 2, which runs from2008 to 2012.
The EU “Roadmap for moving to a competitive low carbon economy by 2050”, going
beyond the 2020 horizon, sets indicative targets by sector and highlights somedirections to achieve this goal. It envisions that green-oriented growth could create
around 1.5 million additional jobs as early as 2020 in the EU.
These measures have helped the de-linkage of economic growth and CO2 emissions
in developed economies: in the EU, over the past two decades, emissions havefallen by 16% while the economy has grown by 40%.
Technology is essential to combat climate change while also achieving economic
growth. Widespread use of existing technologies on a global scale will enable amajor reduction in GHG emissions. In addition, innovative and advanced
technologies are absolutely necessary. Japanese and European businesses are fully
engaged in such endeavours through the improvement and promotion of existing
technologies as well as research and development into new technologies and theirmarket introduction.
Developing countries, investing in new infrastructure at a fast pace, have theopportunity to adopt the most efficient existing technologies. In this respect, theyshould benefit from the technologies developed and available from Japan and theEU.

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