ARCHIVED The Energy Outlook in the Post-Pandemic World with Jun Arima and Nick Butler
Date
Thursday 4 June 2020
Time
11.00am to 12.00 noon (BST)
Booking Details
Free – Donations Welcome
Registration essential
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In this webinar we focus our attention on energy and the possible long-term consequences of the pandemic, when experts Jun Arima and Nick Butler join Japan Society chairman, Bill Emmott, in conversation.
The oil price has collapsed thanks to the pandemic’s impact on demand for energy. The dirtier forms of energy such as coal-fired power stations are in the greatest difficulty. Developing-country oil producers, especially in Africa, face severe financial problems. So do many fracking firms in the US.
What is the longer term perspective for energy producers and consumers alike? With fossil-fuel prices staying low if recovery is slow, what will this mean for the competitiveness of renewables? Will public investment focus on “green” investment as many claim, or will the pressure of high unemployment and vast public debts lead to other priorities? Will Japan fall further behind its emissions-reduction targets, or is there scope for catch-up?
Japan and the UK have long been partners in the development of technologies that support clean, low cost and reliable energy, and Japan has played a major role in the delivery of energy infrastructure projects in the UK. What are the key areas for ongoing collaboration, both bilaterally and in leading change globally?
Jun Arima is Professor at the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy, with a focus on energy and environment policy. He joined the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI; now the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, METI) after graduating in economics at the University of Tokyo. Prior to joining GraSPP, he was Director General of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) in London (2011-2015), having previously held posts including head of Country Studies Division at the International Energy Agency (IEA) (2002-2006); Director, International Energy Negotiation (2007-2008); Deputy Director general for Global Environmental Affairs (2008-2011). Notable publications include 精神論抜きの地球温暖化対策――パリ協定とその後 (Taking Idealism out of the Global Warming Debate—Paris and Beyond) (2016, Energy Forum) and The Truth of International Global Warming Negotiation (2015, Chuokoron-Shinsha).
Nick Butler is Visiting Professor in the Policy Institute, Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy, King’s College London. He chairs Promus Associates and Ridgeway Information Ltd. He is also a member of the Strategic Advisory Council of Equinor (formerly Statoil). He was Senior Policy Advisor to former Prime Minister Gordon Brown (2009-2010) and Chairman of the Cambridge Centre for Energy Studies (2007-2009). Prior to this he was Group Vice-President for Strategy and Policy Development at BP (2002-2006) and previously BP's Group Policy Adviser, having joined the company in 1977. Nick is an Energy Policy Adviser at the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, a Non-Executive Director of Cambridge Econometrics. He is a Trustee of Asia House, a Vice-President of the Hay-on-Wye literary festival, and a regular contributor to the Financial Times.