At the second Japan-U.S. Clean Energy Partnership (JUCEP) plenary meeting on December 15, 2021, the United States and Japan, led by the U.S. Department of State and Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, reviewed achievements and set priorities to accelerate clean energy deployment in the Indo-Pacific region.
Established in April 2021 to implement the U.S.-Japan Climate Partnership and the U.S.-Japan Competitiveness and Resilience (CoRe) Partnership , JUCEP supports the vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) by advancing open, competitive, and transparent energy markets indispensable to a clean, secure, and sustainable energy supply.
In 2021, JUCEP outreach engaged hundreds of energy firms on renewable energy and grid modernization investment opportunities while highlighting U.S. and Japanese investment support tools. Capacity building activities advanced cooperation on Small Modular Reactor (SMR) nuclear energy, quality infrastructure, global procurement, power grid development, and critical mineral mining sector governance. In 2022, JUCEP will continue to advance progress in these areas as it supports joint pilot projects and cooperation on decarbonization technologies.
Plenary presentations underscored how combining U.S. and Japanese tools and capabilities under JUCEP offers stronger support by:
- Expanding private sector project finance options and risk insurance;
- Facilitating joint strategies to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission electricity sector renewable energy projects and grid modernization in the Indo-Pacific region; and
- Holding a high-level public-private JUCEP Trilateral Commercial Forum in early 2022.
Plenary participants included Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance presenters, as well as Japan's Bank for International Cooperation, External Trade Organization, International Cooperation Agency, Ministry of Finance, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, and Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation officials. U.S. participants included Department of State, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, Department of Treasury, Trade and Development Agency, and Agency for International Development presenters as well as Development Finance Corporation and Export Import Bank officials.
