CEEPR and MIT’s Joint Program, together with Japan’s Institute of Energy Economics (IEEJ) co-hosted a Workshop on energy and climate change policy in Tokyo on September 30-October 1, 2010. The Workshop took place in the Keidanren Kaikan. The workshop, CEEPR’s first in Asia, had close to one hundred participants from China, Russia, Hong Kong, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and of course Europe, the US and Japan. It was initiated by CEEPR to demonstrate its interest in making better connections with Asia where much of the economic growth is expected in the coming years.

The workshop showcased MIT institute-wide studies (Future of Natural Gas, Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Future of the Electric Grid), as well as output from research and analysis of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change. IEEJ took on the responsibility of inviting speakers for 5 of the 6 sessions, which added to the diversity of perspectives presented to the participants.

Dr. Tsutomu Toichi who was the counterpart of Loren Cox (CEEPR’s Associate Director for Program Development) in arranging this workshop has had a long relationship with MIT, including as a visiting scholar three decades ago. Loren found Dr. Toichi to be “a wise adviser in all matters logistic, cultural and intellectual,” and looks forward to working with him again on such a workshop in the future.

(October 2010)