In recent years, extreme weather events which are thought to be partially attributed to climate change have been happening around the world, and it has become an urgent task to take climate change measures throughout the world. Based on the scientific findings regarding climate change presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement was adopted at COP21 in December 2015, and came into force in November 2016. Japan proclaims a “decarbonized society” as its ultimate goal and ambitiously aims to accomplish it as early as possible in the second half of this century. President Biden has also stated the importance of climate change measures, and it is expected that the US government will develop various policies for zero emission energy in the future. This talk will clarify trends in innovation related to zero-emission energy such as renewable energy and nuclear power, and the role of Japan in this field.
Mr. Yuta Tonegawa is a Visiting Scholar of the Reischauer Center for East Asia Studies at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C. He has been a government officer of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry since 2007. Last September, METI dispatched him to the Reischauer Center. For three years before coming to the United States, he was the Deputy Director in charge of planning nuclear energy policy, especially R&D and human resource development. Additionally, he has experience working in local government and planning small and medium-sized enterprise policy.
