Japan ranks as the world's largest liquified natural gas importer, second largest coal importer and third largest net importer of oil. In the years immediately after its nuclear fleet was shutdown, Japan's imported fuel costs swelled, raising concerns that its environmental ambitions might be scaled back. Market dynamics have now shifted again, however, with the collapse of oil prices, the global LNG market looking to be glutted in the years to come and international attention shifting to climate change after the Paris COP21 agreement. On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Dr. Ken Koyama, Managing Director, Chief Economist, Strategy Research Unit, for the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, to discuss these and other aspects of Japan's energy and climate landscape.
This interview was originally recorded on April 7, 2016.
