Outer Circle
London NW1
UK
Securing energy is a life and death issue for the economic activities of any nation, while climate change is a shared concern for both developed and developing countries. State policies relating to energy and climate change can have a massive influence on a country’s business sector, but the business sector can also influence these policies.
Japan has faced many difficulties over its energy supply following the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011. Keidanren, Japan’s largest business federation, calls for a balanced energy policy, including a nuclear component, but taking into account the safety lessons learned from the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power station. Meanwhile, the Japanese business sector has been working to reduce Co2 emissions through bottom-up initiatives such as emissions trading schemes, and by sharing information on energy-saving and low-carbon technologies between companies.
Mr Masami Hasegawa, an environmental policymaker at Keidanren, will talk about Keidanren’s initiatives on energy and climate change policy, with reference both to the new Basic Energy Plan being formulated by the Japanese government, and UN climate change negotiations. Professor Jim Skea, Energy Strategy Fellow at Research Councils UK, will discuss how the evolving structure of the UK economy has led to a change in the pattern of the business sector’s engagement with energy and climate change policy-making. He will also examine the specific roles of utilities and energy-intensive users.