EBC Newsletter – September 29, 2021

On the occasion of Commissioner Breton’ s visit to Japan, the EBC President, Michael Mroczek and other European and Japanese businessmen exchanged with him. The main objective of his trip was to engage with officials and industry leaders on digital and tech matters. Please read this article for further details.

Part of the fight against climate change involves various actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the coming weeks, several ministries and organisations are offering webinars and conferences on this subject:

• The 3rd International Conference on Carbon Recycling 2021 (4 October 2021, METI/NEDO)
• What is the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)? Following the announcement of the bill on 14 July (6 October 2021, EU-Japan Centre)
• Leveraging Green Towards a Profitable and Sustainable Business – Managing Assets with ESG in Japan and Luxembourg (7 October, BLCCJ)
• EU-Japan Conference – Cities, regions, clusters: on the road to zero carbon (26-27 October 2021, EU-Japan Centre)

To end with a cultural information, the EU-Japan Fest Japan Committee has supported various projects at the European Capitals of Culture since 1993. They just launchedj a crowdfunding campaign with the objective to raise awareness of the collaborative work and projects between the European Capitals of Culture and Japanese artists and youth.

We hope you stay positive and healthy during this difficult time.

Valerie Moschetti
EBC Chief Operating Officer

On 14 July, the European Commission announced the climate change legislation
package “Fit for 55” (FF55). In the package, CBAM (Border Carbon Adjustment
Mechanism) is expected to play a central role in the comprehensive proposal.

If this mechanism is introduced, it may have a great impact on the world trade order and Japanese companies developing business related to the EU, including the viewpoint of consistency with WTO rules, and future movements are important.

In this webinar, the presenter Mr. Hurtado who was directly involved in the establishment of the bill at the Directorate General of Taxation and Customs of the European Commission will talk directly about the mechanism of CBAM, the introduction schedule and scope, coordination with related countries and international organizations such as WTO.

-Date and time: Wednesday 6 October 2021,16: 00-17: 00

-Languages: English and Japanese (with simultaneous interpretation)

-Program:
16: 00: Opening remarks
Philippe DE TAXIS DU POET
Managing Director, European side of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
16:00 to 16:40: Presentation
Vicente HURTADO ROA
Head of Unit of Indirect Taxes other than VAT in the DG TAXUD (Taxation and Customs Union),European Union
16: 40-17: 00 : Q & A / Discussion
Moderator: Yasuo TANABE
Managing Director, Japanese side of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation

-Participation fee: Free

-Registration: This webinar will be held at ZOOM. Please register from the link as follows for participation.
ZOOM registration link

The BLCCJ, together with the Luxembourg Embassy and Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office Tokyo, are honored to invite you to the following webinar with FinCity.Tokyo Chairman Hiroshi Nakaso and LuxFLAG Chairwoman Denise Voss:

As Japan’s Prime Minister announced ambitious targets of carbon neutrality by 2050 and a 46% reduction of the country’s carbon footprint by 2030, corporate Japan has stepped up its active stance in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters to catch up with their peers in Europe and the United States. Beyond the obvious reasons of social responsibility, companies across the world realize the positive financial outcomes of ESG investing: efforts in sustainability lead to actual business success and there is growing evidence that ESG-themed strategies boost returns.

But how can one invest profitably in Green and ESG-conscious companies?

After a welcome by H.E. Luxembourg Ambassador Pierre Ferring, the first speaker, Mr. Hiroshi NAKASO, Chairman of FinCity.Tokyo and formerly Deputy Governor of the Bank of Japan, will present how Japan emphasizes asset management and the introduction of innovative strategies to make Tokyo a leading global financial city, and moreover how ESG fits in this picture.

The second speaker Ms. Denise VOSS, Chairwoman of LuxFLAG, the Luxembourg Finance Labelling Agency, will share the agency’s definition of Green and ESG, the approach/criteria to label ESG funds, how this labeling contributes to the growth of Luxembourg companies, and how Green in general can be profitable for your business.

Afterwards the speakers will gladly take your questions.

EVENT DETAILS
Thursday 7 October
16:00-17:00 Japan time
Presentations + Q&A in English
Free of charge for EBC members

If you are interested, please send an email to [email protected]  by 7 October.

“Think global, act local”. In Japan and Europe, local stakeholders – clusters, cities, municipalities, regions, prefectures – are at the forefront of decarbonization. Building on a strong sense of ownership and belonging, local ecosystems are well placed to take and implement initiatives for the green transition. Connected with other local actors both at national and international level, they share experiences and learn from others, expanding the range and scope of their efforts.

Transport, construction, urban planning, local renewable energy, circularity of resources, citizens engagement… In all these key areas for the decarbonization of our economies and societies, Japanese and European regional clusters and local governments already take ambitious and innovative actions. Their efforts also expand to other sectors deeply connected to territories, such as agriculture or tourism.

What are the best practices in Europe and Japan? How do regional industrial clusters contribute to these efforts? What are the existing cooperation initiatives between Europe and Japan at the local level? How can national policies unlock local initiatives, and local initiatives inspire national policies? How can stakeholders from Japan and the EU further cooperate on these matters?

The aim of their new crowdfunding campaign is to support artists from Japan who aims to play an active role in a wide range of activities around the world and to increase opportunities for European and Japanese youth to connect globally.

This year’s White Paper is called “Strengthening partnerships – in crisis and opportunity alike” . The opportunity is of course referring to the EU-Japan EPA that entered into force on February 1, 2019. Unfortunately, at the same time the COVID -19 crisis struck the world.

We are, however, confident that with our recommendations, the European and Japanese economies and companies will continue to prosper.