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LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2024 Held

October 7, 2024

On Sunday, October 6, 2024, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) held the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2024 in Hiroshima. Focusing on public-private dialogue, METI and the IEA held the conference in collaboration with the International Group of Liquefied Natural Gas Importers (GIIGNL).
Prior to the convening of the conference, METI and the IEA jointly released a discussion paper to serve as a trigger for the discussions, and, based on this, they held a government session and public-private panel discussions. Participants discussed the role of LNG towards net zero through the public-private dialogue among LNG producers and consumers.
As an outcome of the conference, METI and the IEA jointly compiled a joint chair summary.

Focusing on public-private dialogue, METI and the IEA held the LNG Producer-Consumer Conference 2024, which was the 13th so far, in collaboration with GIIGNL, bringing together 268 people in person. At the conference, the public and private sectors worked together to discuss the role of LNG towards net zero, focusing on the strengthening of gas security, the decarbonization of the LNG value chain, and the role of finance, based on the discussion paper that was published in advance.

At the beginning of the conference, Mr. Murase Yoshifumi, the Commissioner of ANRE, set the “Future of LNG, security, affordability, and decarbonization” as the theme of the LNG-PCC 2024, and stated that member countries should tackle the issue of achieving energy security and securing energy at stable prices at the same time in order to achieve energy transitions and that they should reaffirm the role that natural gas and LNG should play.

As a specific cooperation measure to address some issues surrounding natural gas and LNG, Japan announced that it has expanded the framework of the Coalition for LNG Emission Abatement toward Net-zero (CLEAN) initiative, a public-private joint effort to reduce methane emissions, which was established in 2023. The conference welcomed the joining of 22 more LNG importers to the framework, and 11 energy companies and 6 intentional organizations and entities acknowledged for this joining.

Moreover, Japan and the European Commission agreed on collaboration among LNG importer countries in order to reduce methane emissions from the LNG value chain, shared an approach to this reduction, and announced their intention to tackle this challenge. Japan and the GIIGNL announced that they will cooperate on the joint development of a framework for GHG emissions from the LNG value chain.

Furthermore, in response to the Japan-Italy Action Plan on which the leaders of both countries announced in June 2024, stating that they will strengthen bilateral cooperation in the clean energy sector while supporting the role of natural gas, the energy authorities of the government of Japan and Italy confirmed comprehensive cooperation, including enhancing gas security, and also the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) and Eni, an energy company in Italy, agreed on a memorandum of cooperation on support for LNG procurement and diversification of LNG procurement.

The conference held panel discussions as a public-private session, and participants held lively discussions on the following topics: public and private efforts to enhance gas security and the role of gas reserve mechanisms, technology progress toward decarbonizing the LNG value chain and challenges in developing a roadmap (for the low-carbon LNG value chain), and the role of financing in ensuring the growth of a stable LNG market.

As an outcome of the discussions at the conference, Japan and the IEA compiled a joint chair summary and made it publicly available to the world on the LNG-PCC 2024 website.

Taking this opportunity, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea and METI agreed to cooperate on the stable supply of LNG and decided to initiate new initiative: Korean and Japanese companies will trial cooperation regarding LNG procurement. In the future, based on the positive outcomes of this initiative, we envisage the signing of an arrangement between MOTIE and METI to further strengthen the cooperative relationship between both countries.

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Commissioner Murase delivering opening remarks
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Companies that newly joined the CLEAN initiative
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Announcement of acknowledgement by energy companies and international organizations and associations to the CLEAN initiative
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Announcement of a joint statement with GIIGNL
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Announcement of a joint statement with the European Commission
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Confirming comprehensive cooperation in LNG with the government of Italy, and announcement of an MOC between JOGMEC and Eni
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Scene from a panel discussion
 

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