On March 1, 2021, Team Asia & Pacific of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and the EU Asia Institute of the ESSCA School of Management co-organized a webinar for political officials and decision-makers from Japan, Germany and the EU on “Towards a Greener, Cleaner Planet: The European Green Deal and Japan's 2050 Zero-Emissions Goal”.

The webinar was divided in two parts.

In the first part, the successes and challenges of the green transformation in Japan were discussed. The Government of Japan was represented by Ms. Mizuki Saito, Deputy Director of Global Environmental Affairs Office at the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade (METI). Mr. Tetsunari Iida, Founder & Chairperson of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP), presented a think-tank perspective on the topic of sustainable energy transition. Mr. Kiyoshi Tanigawa, Head of the Challenge Zero Promotion Office, at the Japanese Business Association Keidanren, presented the economic policy positions of Japanese industry. The first part of the webinar was moderated by Ms. Rabea Brauer, Director of the Japan Office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

In the second part of the webinar, the potentials for expanding the partnership between the EU and Japan in the context of their green growth strategies were analyzed. Ms. Marta Olender, International Relations Coordinator at the European Commission's Climate Policy Directorate-General, participated at the event live from Brussels. The perspective of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment (MoE) was presnted by by the ministry's Deputy Director of the International Strategy Division, Dr. Takuya Nomoto. The second part of the webinar was moderated by Ms. Sonia Chikh M’hamed, Professor at the ESSCA School of Management and KAS Fellow.

The event started with welcoming remarks followed by a brief introduction into the topic by Dr. Peter Hefele, Head of the Asia-Pacific team at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and Prof. Thomas Hoerber, Director of the EU Asia Institute of the ESSCA School of Management.