Press release, 16.2.2021

How to make industry GHG neutral?
German-Japanese Environment and Energy Dialogue Forum starts with 300
participants
Net zero by 2050 - this is the goal of Japan and Germany, both highly industrializedcountries. But the energy sector or steel industry are difficult to imagine withoutemissions. Which political framework conditioner needed, and which technologies havethe greatest potential to drastically reduce emissions in energy-intensive industries in themedium to long term? Experts from both countries will deal with these questions in an
intensive three-day online conference.
Industry is responsible for around 30% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and istherefore a key sector for achieving the GHG neutrality target. The conference was openedby Mr. Hiroaki Ishizuka, President of NEDO, the Japanese organizer of the conference, whostated that "Carbon neutrality is a shared challenge for mankind. The era when we
considered global warming as a constraint or a cost is over. We must take it as anopportunity for growth. Innovation is essential for this." Norbert Gorißen, representing theorganizer BMU on the German side, noted in his keynote that "Only if we manage to give theenergy-intensive industry a GHG-neutral perspective in our countries can we maintain added
value and advance decarbonization worldwide". Ursula Borak agreed from the point of viewof the Federal Ministry of Economics "In this way, climate protection becomes an innovation
driver for the economy". It is particularly important to wave goodbye to technologies of thepast - for example coal-fired power plants - and not to actively keep them alive or even tofurther promote them: “The risk that 'stranded assets' will become an expensive legacy inthe future is high. "For the first time, the Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry(METI) and the Ministry of
the Environment (MoEJ) are equally represented at the forum. METI's “Green GrowthStrategy” presented by Shinichi Kihara sets ambitious goals for the electricity sector,industry, transport and households in order to achieve “net zero” by 2050. Renewables
should then provide 50-60% of the electricity, but “carbon recycling” is also stressed as animportant component of the decarbonization strategy. Keiko Segawa (MoEJ), on the otherhand, emphasized the role of municipalities in her keynote speech - more than 200 Japanesecities and municipalities (equivalent to 75% of the Japanese population) have committed
themselves to “net zero” by 2050 - and advocates the introduction of Emissions Trading
Systems based on the EU model.
With Agora Energiewende, the Oeko Institute, the Japanese Renewable Energy Institute andthe University of Tokyo, four renown voices from science gave an insight into scenarios andstudy results on decarbonization paths in both countries on the first day of the conference.
The focus here was on transition costs and the associated question of the right political
instruments to avoid distortions of competition.
The networking sessions attracted many participants: whether on challenges of structuralchange in regions such as Lusatia in German or Kitakyushu in Japan, carbon markets as apolitical instrument, or Japanese cuisine in Berlin - the participants enjoyed the opportunity
to exchange ideas in person, at least virtually
The next two conference days will focus on technologies for the decarbonization of industry:
which emission-cutting effects can be achieved by digitalization, what is the role ofhydrogen, how can the potential of energy efficiency be fully exploited? The exchange onthese questions promises further exciting discussions.

About the EEDF
Since its founding in 2007, the EEDF has become a renowned platform for the informationexchange between experts from industry, academia and politics of both countries on current
environment and energy related issues as well as a starting point for cooperation projects. It
is organized by the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear
Safety, the German Ministry of Economy and Energy and the New Energy and Industrial
Technology Development Organization (NEDO) in co-operation with the Ministry ofEconomics, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment (Japan).
Realization: ECOS and adelphi
Language: German and Japanese (simultaneous interpretation)

Contact:
ECOS GmbH
Westerbreite 749084 Osnabrueck/Germany
Johanna Schilling (Ms.)
Tel. +49-(0)541-911 909 97
E-Mail: jschilling@ecos.eu2