Seminar Steel Industry Towards 2040 Zero Emissions15 Insights on the Transformation and Japan's Choices

in Japanese

While the effects of climate change are becoming increasingly severe, causing greater impacts than expected, the steel industry has often been considered a hard-to-abate sector for reducing CO₂ emissions. However, it is evident that reaching the 1.5 degrees target cannot be accomplished without finding pathways for decarbonizing steel production.

In this seminar, Wido Witecka from the German think tank Agora Industry, which has recently published "15 Insights on the Global Steel Transformation," was invited to discuss ways to decarbonize the steel industry. This study analyzes how the global steel industry can achieve zero emissions and shows that a net-zero steel sector by the early 2040s is technically feasible.

Witecka is an expert in the areas of decarbonizing the steel, chemical, and cement sectors and has worked on different decarbonization projects in various industries in Europe. He is currently working to promote the transformation of the global steel industry by developing a dialogue with steel companies and stakeholders around the world, including Asia.

Renewable Energy Institute also reported on the current status and challenges of the movement towards the decarbonization of the Japanese steel industry. In addition to raising issues from the perspective of investors and corporations, discussions were held on how to drive decarbonization in the steel industry in Japan.

Program　English-Japanese simultaneous interpretation provided.

[MC]　Takanobu Aikawa　Senior Researcher, Renewable Energy Institute

Speakers Profile

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  Wido Witecka
  Project Manager, Agora Industry

  Wido K. Witecka works for Agora Industry as a project manager focusing on the decarbonization of the steel, chemicals and cement sectors. After various industry decarbonization projects in the German and European context he is now working on facilitating a global steel transformation.
  Before starting his professional career at Agora Energiewende in 2018, he gained some work experience in the field of energy and climate policy at the GIZ in Beijing and the Boston Consulting Group. Wido K. Witecka has studied Political Economy with a regional focus on East Asia in Le Havre, Beijing and Cambridge. During his studies, he focused particularly on sustainable development strategies in a global context.

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  Yasunori Takeuchi
  CEO/Representative Director, Corporate Action Japan (CAJ) 
  Former CEO and Country Representative of Standard Chartered Bank, Japan

  Yasunori Takeuchi was appointed CEO/Representative Director of Corporate Action Japan (CAJ) in September 2022. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in international finance to tackling climate change. Before joining CAJ, he worked in the banking sector at both Japanese and international financial institutions for 38 years and established a proven track record in international projects and transactions covering Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. While serving as the Japan CEO of leading international banking groups, Yasunori proactively advocated about the crucial role that the finance sector can play in enabling the transition to a carbon neutral economy. Yasunori has a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Tokyo.

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  Sergio Shigeo Kato
  Co-Representative,  Japan Climate Initiative (JCI)

  As Ricoh’s executive in charge of sustainability, Sergio Shigeo Kato led the company to become the first Japanese company to join RE100 in April 2018. In addtion, as Co-Chair of the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership (JCLP) and a board member of the World Environment Center and Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ), he has led the corporate and industrial sector’s contribution to solving social issues, particularly climate change issues. Together with Takejiro Sueyoshi, he also advocated for the creation of a broad network of non-state actors in Japan and contributed to the establishment of JCI in July 2018. He assumed his current position in March 2023.

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