This opinion piece I wrote was published in The Japan Times on June 24, 2024.
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My commentary piece was published in the Japan Times today. Building on my last post on this Substack, “Megatrends shaping the 7th Strategic Energy Plan,” I argue that the Japanese government first needs to do the hard work of reforming its policymaking process before crafting its energy strategy for the next decade.
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The empirical foundation for my argument is a pivotal report by Climate Integrate that was published in April. It analyzes the memberships of 15 advisory committees that METI convenes to discuss and formulate the draft plans for different parts of Japan’s energy strategy.
The report finds that these policy committees are overwhelmingly staffed with men in their 60s and 70s representing high-emissions and energy-intensive industries and who are hesitant or ambiguous about the clean energy transition. No surprise, perhaps. But having empirical evidence confirming this is valuable.
In writing the piece, I had the pleasure and honor of speaking with Hiroyuki Yasui, Director of Public Policy at Climate Integrate and a coauthor of the report.
Here’s a couple of key passages from my article:
In practical terms, [institutional reform] means creating an agency in charge of decarbonization. Hiroyuki Yasui, director of public policy at Climate Integrate and coauthor of the report, suggests "establishing an independent third-party body with an authority to holistically examine energy policies from the perspective of climate change." This body should be given the authority to check industry interests by instilling science-based climate considerations into every relevant policy domain.
The Kishida administration will be launching what it calls a “GX Leaders’ Panel” that will presumably be an agency akin to what Yasui is talking about. But details are still unclear. So:
the panel should include the voices of companies on the energy demand side (which tend to be more favorable to decarbonization), nongovernmental organizations and think tanks that operate independently from entrenched industrial and financial firms.
And lastly, no matter who is at the policymaking table,
experts and policymakers at all levels should be required to consider available scientific evidence about the climate as well as the economic and technical implications of energy policy.
Japan’s policymaking structure is probably the top barrier that’s hindering its concerted decarbonization. It’s an issue that I’ll be thinking and writing a lot about from now on.
Anyway, you can read the full article on the Japan Times website.
Until next time!