FY2025 ALPS International Symposium - Global warming countermeasures and policy trends and outlook around the world in a diversifying international context -

The world has been strengthening its efforts to address the climate change crisis, aiming to achieve the 1.5°C target and carbon neutrality by 2050. However, global CO₂ emissions continue to show an increasing trend, and the global average temperature in 2024 exceeded a 1.5°C rise. In addition, international uncertainty has further intensified due to increasingly unstable geopolitical conditions, including the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine with no clear prospect of resolution, the worsening situation in Central and South America, and the impact on the global economy arising from the introduction of tariffs by the United States under the Trump administration.

Under these circumstances, Japan has been promoting its Green Transformation (GX) policy in order to simultaneously realize emissions reductions toward carbon neutrality by 2050, economic growth, and the strengthening of industrial competitiveness. In this context, the GX2040 Vision has recently been compiled. Furthermore, as many of Japan's manufacturing bases are located in Asia, the GX2040 Vision also emphasizes the importance of strengthening cooperation for decarbonization in the Asian region. In addition, the institutional design of the emissions trading system, GX-ETS, is currently being advanced, and it will be important to closely monitor its potential impacts when the system is introduced in FY2026.

Against this increasingly complex backdrop, the FY2025 ALPS International Symposium was held both to focus on the pathways and challenges for realizing a virtuous cycle between the economy and the environment and to present the outcomes of this research project. At the symposium, distinguished experts from Europe, the United States, and Asia delivered presentations on international trends and future prospects from various perspectives. The symposium provided a valuable opportunity for a wide range of participants to deepen their understanding of future challenges based on the latest research findings.

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Speakers (left to right, in program order)

Overview

Date/Time: March 4th, 2026
Venue: Bellesalle
Organizer: Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE)
Co-organizer: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI)
Language(s): Japanese/English (Simultaneous translation)

Program

The printable version of the leaflet in Japanese is available here.

10:00 Welcome Remarks Kenji YAMAJI, President, RITE

10:05 Introductory Remarks Hiroaki MACHII, Director, Global Environment Affairs Office, GX Group, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)

10:15 Introduction Keigo AKIMOTO, Group Leader, Systems Analysis Group, RITE Presentation Material

10:30 Keynote Speech "Technological Dynamics and Social Change for a Carbon-Neutral Future: Navigating Geopolitics and Inequality to Achieve a Safe and Just Transition" Nebojsa NAKICENOVIC Distinguished Emeritus Scholar and former Deputy Director General, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) CV Abstract Presentation Material

11:10 Speaker ”A year of recalibration for climate policy in the United States” William A. PIZER President and CEO, Resources for the Future (RFF) CV Abstract Presentation Material

11:50 Lunch Break

13:00 Speaker ”Power Sector for the Developing Asian Regions by 2050: Modelling the strategic vision” Joyashree ROY Distinguished Professor and Center Director, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) CV Abstract Presentation Material

13:40 Speaker ”2035 NDC and Carbon Neutrality in Korea” Tae Yong JUNG Professor, Graduate School of International Studies, Yonsei University CV Abstract Presentation Material

14:20 Speaker ”Analyses on Japanese Emissions Reduction Scenarios and Policy Trends” Keigo AKIMOTO Group Leader, Systems Analysis Group, RITE CV Presentation Material

15:00 Coffee Break

15:20 Pannel Discussion ”Carbon Pricing and International Competitiveness” Moderator: Miyuki NAGASHIMA, RITE Senior Research Scientist Panelist: ”EU Carbon Pricing(CP) Policy” Hiroyuki TEZUKA, Chairman of Energy Technology Committee, The Japan Iron and Steel Federation CV Presentation Material ”The Impact of the CBAM on Japanese Exports to the EU” Takahiro UENO, Senior Researcher of Socio-Economic Research Center, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry, CRIEPI CV Presentation Material Tae Yong JUNG, Professor of Yonsei University William A. PIZER, President and CEO of Resources for the Future, RFF	Hiroyuki TEZUKA Takahiro UENO

17:20 Closing Remarks Takashi HONJO, Senior Managing Director, RITE

17:30 Closed

Contact

RITE Systems Analysis Group

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