TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) invite participants on hosting the international conference “Innovation for Cool Earth Forum 9^th Annual Meeting (ICEF2022)” which brings experts of industry, academia and governments from the world together to discuss and promote “innovation” as the key to solving global warming, at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo and On-line.

ICEF is an international conference for discussing among industry-academia-government leaders around the world to promote “INNOVATION”, the key to solving global warming. The conference will feature discussions among private sector, academic, and government officials with expertise, who will present and share their latest knowledge of social and technological innovation.

ICEF2022 will be held under the theme of "Low-Carbon Innovation in a Time of Crises," with speakers including TANAKA Nobuo, Chair of ICEF Steering Committee and Former Executive Director of International Energy Agency (IEA), Ahmad O. Al-Khowaiter, CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of Saudi Aramco, and other leading experts from various fields, as we need to move forward to a brighter future even in a time of crises. In addition, young researchers of the front line will join the session to share the latest knowledge on climate change countermeasures and discuss about the innovation which is the key to solving global warming, including “CDR (Carbon Dioxide Removal technology)” mentioned at the G7 Climate, Energy, and Environment Ministerial Meeting, “critical metals and minerals” contributing to carbon neutrality which will be featured in ICEF for the first time, and discussions on decarbonization from a political perspective.

The mission of ICEF is to bring the opportunity to share the knowledge with leading experts from around the world, promote discussion and cooperation among participants, and disseminate innovation in energy/environmental technology to a wider audience than just the participants. Also, ICEF promotes gender equality and youth engagement based on our awareness that diversification is the origin of innovation.
Participants will have a valuable opportunity to interact with leading experts in respective fields and be exposed to the forefront of technological innovation in Japan and around the world.

[Program Overview]

Wednesday, October 5
9:30-10:15 Opening Session/Keynote 1

10:25-11:40 Plenary Session 1
Policy Innovation
In order to achieve carbon neutrality by the mid-21st century, accelerating actions by 2030 is strongly required. Due to the current state of global affairs and rapid shift to renewable energy resulting in high energy price, energy security in each nation is at risk of being jeopardized. While some nations have accelerated renewable energy use because of the high energy price, other nations with heavy reliance on fossil fuels will have to take necessary actions to balance its energy security and further decarbonization.
In this session, policy innovation surrounding broad issues such as global affairs and international energy trade will be discussed.

• Moderator:
  • TANAKA Nobuo
    Chair, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Former Executive Director, International, Energy Agency (IEA)
  • Adnan Z. Amin
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Director General Emeritus IRENA;
    Senior Adviser to COP 28 President
     

13:50-15:00 Technology Session 1
Demand-driven Energy Transformation
This session discusses energy transformation of the demand-side by encouraging behavioral changes in energy consumers. The demand-driven energy transformation primarily involves energy efficiency improvement and renewable energy expansion. The discussion focuses specifically on technologies and policy frameworks to assist behavioral change in enhancing energy efficiency and utilizing renewable energy, and social innovation to help the energy demand to be controlled. The session also touches on how the energy consumers could affect the supply-side business. The panelists will share information and knowledge on technologies, innovations, and policies to nudge the consumers toward energy transformation.

• Moderator:
  • KURODA Reiko
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Designated Professor, Frontier Research Institute, Chubu University;
    Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
  • YAMAJI Kenji
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    President, Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE);
    Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
     

15:15-16:15 Technology Session 2
Actions Needed for Realizing Carbon Neutrality in Heat and Transport Sectors with Hydrogen and E-fuel/E-methane
In hard-to-abate sectors, expectations for hydrogen and synthetic fuels (e-fuel and e-methane) have been growing. For instance, synthetic fuels made from CO2 and hydrogen are expected to play an important role in various sectors such as transport, industry, and household. In particular, electrification on its own will not be enough for decarbonizing the transport sector.
The uptake of hydrogen and synthetic fuels remains limited and faces challenges, and especially so in the transport sector, where it has the highest dependency on fossil fuels than any other sectors.
This session will discuss the latest trends and challenges of hydrogen and synthetic fuels, and what can be achieved by 2030 in order to realize carbon neutrality, mainly focusing on the viewpoint of the supply side to the transport, industry, and household sectors.

• Moderator:
  • Georg Erdmann
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Retired Professor for Energy Systems, Berlin University of Technology;
    President of the Board, KSB Energie AG, Berlin
  • Vikram Singh Mehta
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Chairman, Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) Research Foundation
     

16:30-17:45 Plenary Session 2
Energy Transition Leaving Nobody Behind
More than 100 countries have pledged their own Carbon Neutrality (CN), however there are different approaches in each country for realizing the goal. A holistic approach to tackle both the climate change issue and economic development is required to achieve CN on the global scale. We should also consider if rapid mitigation measures such as the sudden mass installation of renewable energy could accelerate the deterioration of energy security, raise unemployment for fossil fuel industry workers, and so on. The pathway to CN in each country is not the same for all countries, but each needs a local, comprehensive transition approach which incorporates an effective fossil fuel policy, industry policy, and environmental policy. This session discusses the compatibility of economic development and carbon neutrality, and the balance between climate change policy and other policies to minimize adverse economic and social impacts. Possible specific actions until 2030 will be explored.

• Moderator:
  • Jon Moore
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Chief Executive Officer, BloombergNEF
  • Hoesung Lee
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
    Endowed Chair Professor, Graduate School of Energy and Environment, Korea University
  • Vikram Singh Mehta
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Chairman, Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) Research Foundation
     

Thursday, October 6
9:00-9:20 Keynote 2

9:40-10:40 Technology Session 3
Carbon Dioxide Removable Technologies
Commitment to achieving carbon neutrality in 2050 has accelerated development and investment in economically and technically available carbon dioxide removal technologies that utilize engineering-based technology and natural resources, such as forests, soil, and ocean.
The latest IPCC AR6 WG3 report published in April 2022 mentioned that carbon removal technologies would become essential in achieving net negative carbon emissions.
However, to promote the deployment of carbon dioxide removal technologies, we need to develop methodologies for quantifying and certifying carbon removal from the atmosphere using such technologies and for ecological impact assessment.
In this session, we will discuss good governance for avoiding conflict with food production and the challenges and possible solutions related to MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification) of carbon removal using carbon dioxide removal technologies.

• Moderator:
  • David Sandalow
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Inaugural Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University;
    Co-Director, Energy and Environment Concentration, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
  • Ismail Serageldin
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Emeritus Librarian of Alexandria;
    Founding Director of the Library of Alexandria
  • Sally M. Benson
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Professor, Department of Energy Resources Engineering, School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University;
    Former Co-Director, Precourt Institute for Energy, Stanford University
     

11:00-12:00 Technology Session 4
Sustainable Nuclear Systems
The amount of greenhouse gas tentatively reduced by COVID19 turned to increase again. Giving such a situation, a lot of measures are required to realize carbon neutral in the world. Importance of energy security increased along with the changing international situation. In such a situation, discussion of the importance of nuclear energy increased again.
On the other hand, sustainable conditions of radioactive waste such as sustainability requirements and design along with local communities are required for propelling nuclear energy.
In this session, we will summarize the research and development of nuclear energy and discuss sustainable nuclear system in the context of the timeframe aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050.

• Moderator:
  • Richard K. Lester
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Associate Provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • TANAKA Nobuo
    Chair, Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Former Executive Director, International, Energy Agency (IEA)
  • Eija-Riitta Korhola
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Delegate of the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change;
    Advisor in the EU Affairs
     

13:30-13:45 Keynote 3

14:00-15:15 Technology Session 5
How to Secure a Sustainable Value Chain in the Age of Resilience: Critical Metals and Minerals?
We have witnessed successes and innovations in diversifying suppliers, sourcing/resourcing alternative materials, realizing a circular economy and design and redesign with alternatives. Yet, at the same time, our commitment and plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions are being challenged by increasing geopolitical complexity and perplexities, intensified climate change, pollution and loss of nature, long-standing justice and equality questions, in particular around land use and land rights of indigenous communities. Therefore, more urgently than ever, we need to gather collective wisdom and partnerships not only across the supply chain but also beyond it to rethink, redesign and reshape the value chain, and thus meet the challenges and demand of the marketplace and the clean energy and industrial revolution.
In light of the situation, this session will focus on innovations for securing a stable supply of critical metals and minerals in the context of achieving carbon neutrality, while considering the value chain from the production phase, impacts of international trends, alternative materials, and the circular economy.

• Moderator:
  • Changhua Wu
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    China Director, Office of Jeremy Rifkin;
    Executive Director, Professional Association for China’s Environment;
    Chief Strategist, CN Innovation;
    Vice Chair, Governing Council, Asia Pacific Water Forum
  • David Sandalow
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Inaugural Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University;
    Co-Director, Energy and Environment Concentration, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University
  • Valli Moosa
    Innovation for Cool Earth Forum (ICEF) Steering Committee;
    Head of the South African Presidential Climate Commission;
    Former President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Chairman, Center for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) Research Foundation
     

15:30-16:30 Summarising Session

16:30-17:00 Closing Session

Contacts

[For inquiries from attendees]
The ICEF2022 Secretariat (c/o Japan Convention Services, Inc.)
e-mail: icef-reg@convention.co.jp

[For inquiries from media members]
The ICEF2022 Secretariat: NAKAI Hiroe, SHIBAHARA Yuki
e-mail: icef-press@convention.co.jp
TEL: +81-3-5510-7656