Clean Energy Public-Private Roundtable Held in the United States

1. Background

On Monday, September 23, Mr. Matsuo Takehiko, Vice-Minister for International Affairs, participated in the Clean Energy Public-Private Roundtable hosted by the U.S. Department of State and CEBA.

This roundtable is part of the cooperation agreed on in the policy dialogue between Mr. Saito Ken, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Mr. John Podesta, Senior Advisor to the U.S. President for International Climate Policy, held in April 2024, as a meeting to maximize synergies between the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and Japan’s Green Transformation Promotion Strategy.

2. Participants

Representatives of METI, the U.S. Department of State, CEBA, 7 private companies that are members of CEBA

3. Details of the discussions

With the increasing awareness of corporates regarding the sustainability of the global environment, and an expected increase in electricity demand from data centers and generative AI, the need to address climate change while maintaining stable energy procurement and industrial competitiveness is becoming increasingly important. Participants of the roundtable acknowledged their awareness of this issue, as well as the necessity to take collective actions by companies and deepen public-private cooperation towards resolving this issue.

The participants highly evaluated Japan's endorsement for the pledge reached at COP28 to triple the world’s installed renewable energy generation capacity. They also expressed expectations for the acceleration of renewable energy adoption, the development of power infrastructure. Furthermore, some companies expressed the importance of securing decarbonized power sources (carbon-free power sources) that are stable and have sufficient supplying capacity including nuclear power (including the restart of existing nuclear power plants and the use of next-generation reactors), CCUS technology, and nuclear fusion, as well as procurement from such energy sources. Such views were expressed from the viewpoint of ensuring competitiveness of business activities in Japan and considering further investment expansion.

Related Link

• Minister Saito Holds a Policy Dialogue with Senior Advisor to the U.S. President Podesta (April 11, 2024)

Division in Charge

Global Environmental Affairs Office, GX Policy Group