Since 2016 the German-Japanese Energy Transition Council (GJETC) is continuously
developing extensive joint recommendations for the implementation and further development of the energy transition, and a large number of publications and outreach events as well as council meetings contributed to increased German-Japanese cooperation.
In order to continue to develop independent impulses for a long-term, sustainable overall energy supply strategy, the GJETC is now working on new study topics and cooperation concepts. The relationship of trust that has been created between the council members enables a dialogical and (self-)critical approach to controversial topics.
In 2021 the scientific exchange on matters of energy policy green industry was complemented by "Innovation Partnerships", targeting exchange and cooperation of businesses from both countries at the pre-competitive stage. In doing so, a first "Innovation Roundtable" on waste heat usage in industry was held in November 2021. A second, on the topic of serial energetic refurbishment for the building stock, followed in the end of 2023.
In a cooperation with the secretariat of the Japanese-German energy partnership, commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, the German team develops input and concepts for the webinar series "Zoom-In" on selected topics of acute relevance. The council also uses Stakeholder Dialogues to incorporate perspectives from a plurality of actors from industry, politics, and civil society, as well as young scientists.
Results from Studies and Topical Papers, as well as the recorded online events are widely disseminated for publicity. The studies on energy efficiency in buildings, energy efficiency governance, electricity market design and on the comparison of long-term decarbonisation scenarios to 2045/2050, as well as the Topical paper on waste heat utilisation, are available at the GJETC website.
On the German side, the Wuppertal Institute supports the Council's work as scientific secretariat, on the Japanese side, the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ) takes over this task, while Senior Advisor at the Wuppertal Institute Prof. Dr. Peter Hennicke (until end of 2022) and Director of the Energy, Transport and Climate Policy Division at the Wuppertal Institute, Dr. Stefan Thomas (since early 2023) act as German co-chair and his Japanese colleague Prof. Masakazu Toyoda as Japanese co-chair of the GJETC. ECOS Consult continues to provide organisational support for the project on the German side.