GGX Finance Summit 2024 Held

October 23, 2024

On Tuesday, October 15, 2024, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) held Global GX (GGX) Finance Summit 2024 as part of Tokyo GX Week and Japan Weeks. The summit hosted discussions that brought together representatives of industrial and financial players, governments, and international organizations on the subjects of the realization of a global green transformation (GX), approaches to climate-related information disclosure, and the promotion of transition finance.

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1. Outline of the summit

As part of Tokyo GX Week and Japan Weeks, which started on Sunday, October 6, METI held GGX Finance Summit 2024 on Tuesday, October 15, as an opportunity to promote mutual collaboration between the public, private, and financial sectors, and lead global rule-making in various for a to achieve both decarbonization and economic growth, so as to further develop discussions on transition finance and decarbonization in the industrial sector.

The GGX Finance Summit 2024 is comprised of four sessions: (1) Expanding the GX Market, (2) Creating a GX Startup Ecosystem, (3) Future Prospects of Transition Finance, and (4) Formulating Transition Plans. At each session, experts from Japan and overseas discussed suggestions on the subject and participants held discussions on efforts that are expected to become necessary for the realization of GX through panel discussions.

2. Details and outcomes of the discussions

During his opening remarks, Mr. Ryuzaki Takatsugu, Director-General for GX Promotion, METI, explained Japan’s GX policies, including the formulation of the GX2040 Vision, transition finance, and the promotion of the Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) concept. Following this, Mr. Kobori Hideki, Vice Chair, Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), delivered a message stating the need for disclosure and transition finance as well as the importance of evaluating emissions based on entire value chains, including avoided emissions. Moreover, Ms. Mary L. Schapiro, Vice Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), explained the details of GFANZ’s activities and made a comment on the importance of disclosing information and formulating transition plans.

Session 1: Expanding the GX Market

Participants focused on the importance of visualizing and evaluating emission reduction in the manufacturing process to encourage hard-to-abate sectors to invest in decarbonization, and they raised that the establishment of common rules and calculation methods is required. In addition, the role of international initiatives connecting financial institutions, the supply side, and the demand side, as well as the importance of incentive-based evaluation methods were discussed.

Session 2: Creating a GX Startup Ecosystem

Mr. Kikukawa Jingo, Director-General, Innovation and Environment Policy Bureau, METI, and Ms. Katherine Elizabeth Monahan, Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, delivered remarks. They stated the roles played by Japan’s GX policies and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and showed their expectations for startups in the field of GX. At the panel discussion with representatives of startups and venture capital firms invited from Japan and the U.S., participants held discussions on the elements necessary for creating a sustainable GX startup ecosystem, including the importance for startups in the field of GX to look to global business development and the importance for governments to stimulate demand for decarbonization technologies.

Session 3: Future Prospects of Transition Finance

Mr. Miyazono Masataka, President, Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), and Mr. Fukutome Akihiro, Chairperson, Japanese Bankers Association, delivered remarks and showed their expectations for related measures, including their expectations for the issuance of the GX Economy Transition Bonds, and collaboration between stakeholders. Following this, a panel discussion was held and participants confirmed that global understanding regarding transition finance is growing, and that the Government of Japan’s Climate Transition Bonds have been a major impetus. It was also noted that investor decisions along with government support and commitments are important in evaluating transition, that it is important in emerging economies to bridge the gap between 1.5-degree goals and their pathways, and that disclosure and reporting are needed to improve credibility. 

Session 4: Formulating Transition Plans

Dr. Ito Kunio, Professor, Hitotsubashi University and Chair of the TCFD Consortium, delivered remarks. He stated the importance of climate change-related disclosure and conveyed his expectations for public-private collaboration. At the panel discussion, participants focused on the formulation of transition plans by companies, which serve as a foundation for transition finance, through referring to the Transition Plan Guidebook developed by the TCFD Consortium and other specific cases, and acknowledged that the formulation of the plans by governments is also important, a revision process through engagement and dialogue with investors is useful, and that alignment of various disclosure frameworks and interoperability will be important.

Finally, Mr. Shigetake Naoki, COO, GX Acceleration Agency, delivered closing remarks and showed his high expectations for the GGX Finance Summit becoming a contributor to global GX.

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Environmental Finance Office, GX Policy Group
Global Environmental Affairs Office, GX Policy Group

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