12th Expert Working Group Meeting on Energy and Environment

Beginning in 1997, the Northeast Asia Economic Forum (NEAEF) began a discussion of energy issues as a major part of functional cooperation in the Northeast Asian region at its annual conferences.

Twelve years ago, in the year 2000, Dr. Taro Nakayama, former Foreign Minister of Japan, Member of Parliament, and Chairman of the Commission for the Promotion of the Asias Energy Community (APAEC), and I initiated this series of expert group meetings in Honolulu. The first meeting focused on natural gas in Asia. This meeting was the second in a series of working group meetings on energy co-organized by the NEAEF and CPAEC with support from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, in cooperation with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC), the Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS), Japan’s Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Russian Academy of Sciences (Far Eastern Branch), and the U.S. Geological Survey.

The main objective of the meeting was to explore key energy issues that will confront Northeast Asia in the 21st century and to discuss the critical role of natural gas from both a regional perspective and the perspective of individual countries, by examining four major themes: 1) the role of natural gas, including the obstacles to and means of promoting its use; 2) natural gas and regional and global environmental concerns and imperatives; 3) the electric power industry and clean-power generation; and 4) energy security and regional cooperation. The subsequent meetings have been extremely valuable and served as a catalyst for work among the experts of the Northeast Asian region.

This year (2012) we will be discussing 1) green energy policies, 2) post-Fukushima energy outlooks, and 3) challenges and solutions for a low carbon future.

We are truly grateful to Dr. Nakayama Taro for his vision and support through Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other institutions for having been able to continue this series of meetings. We want to extend appreciation to the Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI) for lendings its support toward this meeting series, particularly through the continuous efforts of Dr. Kyung- Hwan Toh who is with us here for this meeting. This is a difficult time economically, and with the spirit of common sacrifice, everyone is trying to provide support toward this meeting series, including Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Hitachi, the Blue Planet Foundation founded by Henk Rogers, and the Hawaiian Electric Company.