Shinnenkai 2024 — The Norway-Japan Society

2024年2月1日(木) 新年会を開催いたしました

様々なゲストの方にお越しいただき、美味しいビュッフェ、音楽演奏、ロッタリーなど盛りだくさんの会となりました。

会員の皆様、そしてゲストの皆様、ご参加いただきまして誠にありがとうございました。

On February 1st, we held the Shinnenkai / New Year's party at Matsuya Salon.

We also enjoyed and deepened exchanges with delicious food, Norwegian music, and a lottery.

We thank all our members and guests for attending.

田内会長のご挨拶
Society President Mr. Tauchi greeted everyone

大使よりご挨拶
Greeting from Norwegian Embassy by Ambassador Iglum

参事官によるスピーチ
Speech by new counsellor Oddbjørn Lunde

沖祥子さま、宮川康子さまによる音楽演奏
Violin recital by Shoko Oki
Piano accompaniment by Yasuko Miyakawa

Lunde参事官が当日お話しいただいたスピーチの全文をいただきました。

Distinguished guests and dear friends,
Thank you very much for this invitation to the annual New Year's Party hosted by the Norway-Japan Society. Also, thank you for the opportunity to talk about the work Norway and the embassy are doing in Japan, focusing on energy and the green transition.
We are facing a planet suffering by human activity. Climate change, pollution, and loss of biodiversity threaten not only ecosystems but also our own future and well-being. The green transition is not just about replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy sources or reducing our emissions. It is about transforming our entire society, from how we produce and consume goods and services to how we move, live, and interact with each other. It is also about creating value and securing jobs.
Both Norway and Japan have set ambitious climate goals. We share a common ambition to transform our economies and adapt our societies to a low-emission future in line with the Paris Agreement. Norway's climate goal is to cut emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. By comparison, Japan aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Norway is a reliable and stable energy supplier and since 2022 has been Europe’s largest supplier of gas. Norway's significant energy resources, primarily renewable energy followed by oil and gas, have formed the basis for a competitive supplier industry. The changes we observe in energy markets create opportunities for the supplier industry in new sectors such as offshore wind, CO2 management, hydrogen, and more. Like Japan, the majority of Norway's continental shelf is too deep for fixed-bottom wind power construction. Thus, the idea of floating offshore wind was born.
In 2021, the government presented the White Paper: Energy for Work - long-term economic growth from Norwegian energy resources. The paper demonstrates how Norway can utilize energy resources to generate growth and new employment opportunities. In accordance with this White Paper, Norway's position as an energy nation is to be further developed through investments in new sectors like hydrogen and offshore wind, strengthening the power grid, and fostering a forward-looking oil and gas industry with low emissions. The paper builds upon the government's climate plan and illustrates how renewable energy and the power grid lay the foundation for electrification and phasing out the use of fossil energy. Consequently, expertise and technology from the oil and gas industry will serve as the basis for the development of many future sectors. We are well on our way to fulfilling the government's ambition for Norway to become a leading nation in offshore wind, with an industry that develops and builds top-class wind power solutions. The government's ambition is to allocate areas with the potential for 30 GW offshore wind production on the Norwegian continental shelf by 2040.
To further strengthen the bilateral ties between our two countries, the Norwegian Prime Minister Mr. Støre and Minister of Trade and Industry Mr. Vestre visited Japan in December last year. The visit led to an upgrade in Norway's relationship with Japan through the announcement of a joint statement on strategic partnership and the signing of a Green Strategic Partnership Joint Communique. Japan has made significant plans for the green transition that can create new opportunities for both Japanese and Norwegian companies. The visit serves as a crucial driver for Team Norway's work in Japan in this area moving forward. I will explain later who Team Norway is.
The main content of the communique on green strategic partnership is that 1) Japan and Norway agree to accelerate the green transition to achieve the goal of zero emissions by 2050 and ※2) To work together to “ensure well-functioning and resilient industrial value chains, facilitating an increase in trade and investments, ensuring security, and fostering business cooperation including innovation and R&D."
And further, the partnership shall complement and promote existing business collaborations and seek new ones. The partnership encompasses hydrogen and ammonia, offshore wind, batteries, CCS/CCSU/carbon recycling, green transportation, raw & processed materials, and manufacturing. Through the partnership, the parties shall exchange information and share best practices regarding standards, regulations, and certifications to boost the demand and supply of low- and zero-emission solutions. The parties shall also collaborate to develop resilient value chains. Additionally, the partnership shall stimulate bilateral investments to accelerate industrial capacities, green transportation, and the end use of green solutions.
Norway and Japan already collaborate within carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), hydrogen, and ammonia. Yara has made several MoU agreements with major Japanese players to explore ammonia in chemical and power production and as maritime fuel. Norway has experience in storing carbon in the North Sea and is leading the international development of carbon capture and storage. The government also seeks more cooperation within floating offshore wind and batteries. Furthermore, the government welcomes Japanese investments in Norway in the aforementioned areas.
To strengthen the export efforts towards Japan, a High Potential Opportunity project for offshore wind was established in January 2023. This is a five-year program initiated by Innovation Norway and anchored in the government's export promotion within offshore wind to promote Norwegian companies in the Japanese offshore wind market. The goal is to contribute to contracts of significant value and position Norwegian companies for a certain market share.
Japan aims to auction 10GW by 2030 and 30-45 GW by 2040 in offshore wind. Japan has limited areas for fixed-bottom wind turbines, which underscores the need for the development of floating offshore wind. Floating wind power is currently significantly more expensive than fixed-bottom solutions. Japan and Norway share a common interest in collaborating on cost reduction and technology development.
As mentioned, Norwegian industry is well positioned to contribute to a profitable offshore wind sector. We possess significant expertise in offshore activities, experience in managing energy resources, a robust supplier industry and a sector taking significant strategic steps to invest in offshore wind. Technological advancements in offshore wind are moving towards larger turbines installed farther from shore and in deeper waters. The expertise within Norway's supplier industry aligns well with such advancements.
Another area identified for potential green growth collaboration is battery technology. Japanese companies are world-leading in battery technology and production and is one of the largest investors in global battery value chains in the world. Japanese companies are actively looking for overseas investment destinations in emerging sustainable battery value chains. Norway and its industry may have significant potential and competitive advantages in raw material production for batteries, establishing battery cell production, and efficient recycling of materials from batteries. Batteries should be built with renewable power. Norway, for instance, has renewable energy that can be used for industrial development and already has functional markets for batteries. The electrification of the maritime sector is progressing rapidly and has led to a value chain for batteries, propulsion systems, and assembly/conversion in Norway.
Unfortunately, the constraints of this speech do not allow for a comprehensive review of all collaborative areas. The task ahead is how the agreement on increased strategic green partnership will be implemented in practice. The further cooperation must be practical and feasible.
The follow-up work is anchored in Team Norway, in close collaboration with authorities, energy industry associations and clusters and other stakeholders in Norway. Team Norway is a network-based collaboration among various public and private entities working to promote Norwegian business interests internationally. The most important Team Norway partners for follow-up of the green partnership with Japan will be the Norwegian Embassy, Innovation Norway, and Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP’s). The NORWEP’s foundation aims to internationalize the Norwegian energy industry by establishing contacts between Norwegian companies and foreign authorities and companies.
The work will be anchored in the goals and objectives of Team Norway Japan’s energy strategy. The strategy has several objectives, but the most important is that Norway is recognized as part of the solution for Japan’s energy transition.
Another dimension worth mentioning is the relationship with research and development, which is included in the joint declaration on strategic green partnership. Norway and Japan recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the bilateral agreement on research and technology cooperation of May 27, 2003. The concept of the Knowledge Triangle is often used to describe the interaction between research, education, and innovation, and how this interaction is crucial for generating new knowledge, disseminating, and applying knowledge. A close collaboration between business and research will be a key element if the green shift is to be successful. An important question is what the existing cooperation means for the green partnership. Next week, we will be visited by a delegation from the Ministry of Education, the Norwegian Research Council, and the Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills, who will participate in the bilateral Joint Committee Meeting. This issue is one of many that will be discussed next week.
We experience a genuine interest from the Japanese side in collaborating both on the business side, but also on government level. The visit of Prime Minister Støre and Minister of Trade and Industry Vestre was a significant milestone in the bilateral relationship.
Finally, I will allow myself to draw a comparison between the visit and a Norwegian-Japanese passion, namely ski jumping. Japan and Norway are well known for world-class ski jumpers. I can mention the ski jumping legend Noriaki Kasai, the world champion in ski flying in 1992. Many also know Sara Takanashi, one of the best female ski jumpers in history, who debuted in the World Championship in Oslo in 2011. I know there are national team competition in ski jumping, but I do not think there are multi-national teams. Japan and Norway are on the same team now. The result can be nothing but gold!
Thank you for your attention!
Goseichō arigatō gozaimashita
※Green Strategic Partnership Joint Communique between the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan and the Minister of Trade and Industry of the Kingdom of Norway provides as follows: Recognizing the current global energy crisis and economic disruptions, the two Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to accelerating the clean energy transition to achieve climate neutrality at the latest by 2050, and they recognize the importance of promoting an efficient diversification of supply sources to enhance energy security and affordability.