Japan Gas Association at UN Climate Change Conference - United ArabEmirates (COP28)
December 20,2023
Japan Gas Association

The Japan Gas Association (JGA) participated in UN Climate Change
Conference - United Arab Emirates (COP28) delivering presentations atthree seminars promoting“e-methane”.

① Japan Pavilion
JGA emphasized immediate need to establish international CO2
counting rules at seminar on "Creating a Hydrogen Supply Chain:
Prospects and Challenges of Hydrogen Transport" hosted by the Japan
Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

“Japan Pavilion” JGA Second from far right1② International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Pavilion
At "Establishment of International Standards for Hydrogen" seminar,
JGA initiated that “e-methane” will expedite the growth ofhydrogen market and the need to establish international standards
for hydrogen, CO2 and “e-methane.

UNFCCC Side Event ISO Seminar③ UNFCCC Side Event
The International Accreditation Forum (IAF), the German Institutefor Standardization (DIN) and the Japan Gas Association co-hosted
official side event, "Global Clean Hydrogen Market - Harmonizationof Measuring, Reporting, Verification and Accreditation.”
JGA’s presentation was focused on Japan’s gas industry's efforts
to deploy“e-methane”.
This side event is posted on YouTube.
Please refer to page 4 for details.

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UNFCCC side event IAF-sponsored seminar JGA second from left

The Japan Gas Association will continue our efforts to raiseawareness of “e-methane”with the support and collaboration of all
the global partners and to realize immediate establishment ofinternational CO2 counting rules.

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Global Hydrogen Market: "Harmonization is key"Due to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gas emissions despite the growth and deployment ofrenewable energy sources in electricity generation, hydrogen holds promise to significantly reduce carbon
emissions in hard-to-abate sectors, including long-haul transport, steel and iron, cement, and chemicals.
Hydrogen combusts and releases energy without making carbon dioxide, making it an emissions-free sourceof energy.
This can help to strengthen national energy security and diversify transportation energy options towards amore resilient and low carbon system.
However, without clear standards and systems for conformity assessment, the promise of clean hydrogen
may erode.
International standards for the measurement, reporting and verification of the carbon footprint of hydrogenproducts are essential towards more comparability enabling its acceleration and global deployment. TheInternational Accreditation Forum (IAF), Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN) and Japan Gas
Association organized a related COP28 side event held on 12 December, “Global Clean Hydrogen Market– Harmonization of Measuring, Reporting, Verification and Accreditation”.
Moderated by Javier Garcia, Director General of the Spanish Association for Standardization and ISO Vice
President, the panel discussed the important interplay between industry, standards setters, accreditation
bodies, conformity assessment bodies, and regulators that is required to build a clean, green hydrogenmarket worldwide.
Mr. Garcia opened the discussion with some recent news regarding the release of a new technicalspecification from ISO (ISO/TS 19870) as a foundation for harmonization, safety, interoperability, andsustainability across the hydrogen value chain. In addition, ISO has signed an agreement with UNIDO todeepen commitment to decarbonization and the development of standards for renewable and low carbonhydrogen.
Mitsuhiro Kohara, Japan Gas Association, explained the need for massive amounts of hydrogen as Japan
shifts much of its energy resources from natural gas to the synthetic fuel e-methane: "We will be big
consumers of hydrogen in the future, so develop the standard ISO DIS 6338, establish market with a senseof unity, establishing the value of recycled carbon fuels such as e-methane for net-zero society usinghydrogen.”David Bublil of the EU Commission confirmed that the EU is committed to accelerating the introduction4

of hydrogen. "At the same time, hydrogen must have the smallest possible CO2 footprint. Therefore, weneed standards and reliable accreditation on how emissions are calculated and reported - in line with theCarbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.”
Wataru Takahama of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry pointed out that the objective is tocreate the market. “While we have a common goal, we should strike a balance between necessary emission
reductions and economic growth." Mr. Takahama also stressed the importance of avoidance of duplicate
verification costs for industry to help the market grow.
Smeeta Fokeer of UNIDO, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, highlighted theopportunities for achieving "net zero" in the global south. "The hydrogen market can create jobs, economic
resilience and a green, diversified economy. For this, we need capacity building and knowledge, anddeveloping countries need to be involved.”
The opportunity was underlined by Gabriel Lassery Rocha Da Silva of the Brazilian Hydrogen Association:"Brazil has great potential for hydrogen production. A well-functioning market will benefit the whole region
in South America.”
Ann Howard of IAF cited the varying definitions of types of hydrogen as well as varying national andjurisdictional hydrogen policies and expected accredited verifications as being amongst the challenges facedin the harmonization of hydrogen standards and accreditation.
She noted that there had been some progress at COP 28 with the COP28 Declaration of intent of the
Mutual Recognition of Certification Schemes for Renewable and Low-Carbon Hydrogen and Hydrogen
Derivatives which seeks to work toward mutual recognition of hydrogen certification schemes to help
facilitate a global market.

However, there is a clear need for greater international coordination,

information sharing, and the development of a harmonized quality infrastructure among standardization
and accreditation bodies to support the green hydrogen market.
A recording of the session is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyTq60bKs6c5