Council Meetings

Council Meeting in Berlin, 14th – 15th February 2024

On the 14th and 15th of February 2024, the GJETC members gathered at the Japanese Embassy in Berlin for the first „in person“ meeting of the current working phase. The goal of the council meeting was to discuss the ambitious goals of Germany and Japan to expand the use of renewables and to improve the protection of natural resources through more efficient technologies. Both countries are making significant efforts to preserve natural resources but must also keep an eye on the requirements of energy security, economic reliability and social sustainability. On the second day of the gathering, non-members had the opportunity to gain insights into the council’s work by meeting the co-chairs and the council members. You can find detailed information about the „Meet the Co-Chairs“ format titled „Tripling Renewables and Doubling Energy Efficiency: Germany and Japan as Forerunners for the Implementation of Ambitious Goals“ on our Outreach Website.

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Site Visit:

On the second day of the GJETC Council Meeting, the Japanese Council Members visited an inspiring case of building retrofitting using the „Energiesprong“ method. Timo Sengewald, senior expert for climate neutral buildings at the German Energy Agency (dena), explained the features of the Zoo Friedrichsfelde’s 1960ies office building such as the prefabricated wooden facade elements.

Online Council Meeting, 28th November 2023

In the run-up to the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 28) in Dubai, the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council held their the first council meeting of the current funding phase. Aside from fundamental debates about topics such as climate change, energy markets and an expansion of energy efficiency, the GJETC also focused on new study topics at the first council meeting in the current working phase. An optimized electricity market design with more incentives for investing in flexibility, accelerated implementation of energy saving measures through improved governance, or the analysis of initiatives such as the European Green Deal or Japan’s Green Transformation (GX) were discussed by the experts.

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Council Meeting in Tokyo, 2/3 March 2023

The German and Japanese Members of the GJETC gathered at the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) in Tokyo for their first physical meeting after 2019.

In their 2 days meeting, they discussed the outcome of two current studies/topical papers:

Study 1: “Strategies, concepts and measures for decarbonizing the building stock by 2045/50” (to be published end of Q 1/2023)
Study 2: “Pathways to greenhouse gas neutrality for industrial sectors that are difficult to decarbonise: the petrochemical/chemical sector” (to be published end of Q 1/2023)
Topical Paper: “The potential of waste heat usage in Germany and Japan” (already published)

Furthermore, the Council Members opened discussion on current political issues and on future topics to be addressed in studies and exchange formats of the GJETC.

On day 2 of the Council Meeting (March 3, 15:30-18:00 JST / 7:30-10:00 CET; hybrid), the GJETC secretariates organized a Stakeholder Dialogue with the Industry entitled “Exchange on Policy Frameworks that support the Transition to a Carbon Neutral Building Sector in Japan and Germany”.

On the day before the Council Meeting, the GJETC cooperated with other partners in two further events:

“Deep Dive on German Energy Transition and German Hydrogen Policies”, organized by the German Embassy, featuring a Keynote Lecture by GJETC Member Dr. Felix Matthes (1^st March 2023, 15:00-17:00 JST, Residence of the German Ambassador – on invitation only; Program and Registration for Livestream)
“Women in Leadership in the Energy Sector”, an event of the German-Japanese Energy Partnership, featuring a Keynote of GJETC Member Dr. Kathrin Goldammer (1^st March 2023, 17:30-19:00 JST, German Chamber of Commerce, Tokyo; Registration, Agenda)

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Council Meeting held in Berlin / online on Nov 28 & 29, 2022

The German-Japanese Energy Transition Council held a 2 days Council Meeting at the Japanese Embassy in Berlin on November 28 and 29, 2022. The Japanese Council Members joined online.

On the 1^st day, concept and intended contents of GJETC studies currently prepared on decarbonising the building stock and the petrochemical industry as well as waste heat usage were discussed.

On day 2, the Council Members exchanged views on pathways to reach ‘’Net Zero’ in both countries. Furthermore, possible topics for Innovation Roundtables and the timeline of coming events (Outreach Event on December 9, Council Meeting in Tokyo in March 2023) were presented.

12th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – February 2022

On 24 and 25 February 2022, the 12th Council Meeting of the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) took place in hybrid form at the Japanese-German Center (JDZB) Berlin.

The first Council Meeting of 2022 focused on the presentations of the current German-Japanese studies on decarbonisation of the steel industry, long-term scenarios for achieving climate neutrality and the role of batteries in the energy transition. In light of the recent changes of government in Germany and Japan, the German and Japanese Council members also discussed the implications for climate policy. Along with the socio-ecological transformation towards climate neutrality, new research questions arose which could be subject for further studies.

11th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – September 2021

On 13 and 14 September 2021, the 11th Council Meeting of the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) took place at the Japanese-German Center Berlin (JDZB) – for the first time as a hybrid event.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19-pandemic, the discussions focused on the challenges posed by the global deterioration of climate change (cf. new IPPC report) and its implications for the negotiations at COP 26 in Glasgow. This rose new research questions for the acceleration of the energy transition and the design of a socio-ecological transformation towards carbon neutrality.

10th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – March 2021

On 12 March, 2021 the German Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) looked back on four years of fruitful international cooperation. The 10th meeting started with the presentation of three new studies that the Council has conducted. In addition to the topics of hydrogen use and digitization of the energy sector, one study also looked at the impact of Covid-19 on energy transition efforts. Thus, the GJETC continues the preparation of scientific studies and policy recommendations and seeks broad technical and societal exchanges to accelerate climate change mitigation.

9th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – September 2020

For a second time in a row, the GJETC meeting on 25th September 2020 had to take place online due to the Covid-19 pandemic situation. Mr. Shinichi Kihara, Deputy Commissioner at the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy (ANRE) of METI, opened the meeting stating that the new study topics of GJETC – digital applications to optimize transmission grids well as carbon recycling – came very timely. Dr. Karsten Sach, Director-General at the German Environmental Ministry BMU called the GJETC as a valuable pillar of the German Japanese partnership for cooperation in his greeting address.

Besides the opportunities of digital applications such as AI and big data from decentralized energy resources to avoid congestion and bottlenecks in the grid, and the technologies to decarbonize energy-intensive energies (including carbon recycling or hydrogen), the council members also discussed possible long-term effects of the Corona pandemic and recommendations for energy and climate policy in the post-Covid-19 era.

8th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – March 2020

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7th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – September 2019

On 24th September 2019 the 7th Meeting of the GJETC took place in Tokyo.
Japan is restructuring its electricity market and competing energy suppliers, unbundling grid and competitive balancing markets are the results. Digitization can enable system operators, producers, traders, consumers and storage providers to co-operate and use the renewable power instead of wasting it. This hypothesis is the background for a study conducted by the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC). The Wuppertal Institute and the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) as the scientific secretariats of the GJETC, analysed concepts of virtual power plants and their underlying business models as well as the use of Blockchain technology. The focus was set on case studies such as the German company Next Kraftwerke and the US energy supplier Pacific Gas & Electric. First results have been discussed at the 7th meeting of the GJETC held these days in Tokyo.

6th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – March 2019

On 6 and 7 March 2019 the 6th Council meeting of the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) has been held in Berlin at the Japanese German Center (JDZB). The first meeting in 2019 took place primarily with a focus on digitization. A new working group was set up to deal with the issue of “Digitization and the Energy Transition”. At the sidelines of the meeting, members of the GJETC also visited an outstanding sector coupling project that uses surplus energy for heating and cooling.

5th Meeting of the German Japanese Energy transition Council – September 2018

On 14 and 15 November 2018 the GJETC kicked off its next phase in Tokyo. After two years of successful work which culminated in an extensive 800 pages study program and a Final Report published in April 2018, the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) will continue its work in a 2nd phase from this fall. Thanks to the renewed support of the German Environment Foundation (DBU), the German Federal Foreign Office and the Japanese Ministry of Economy and Trade (METI), the Council will independently develop ideas and alternative options for a long-term and sustainable energy supply strategy in both countries in the next 2 years.

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