Seminar Titled 'Decarbonization and Renewable Energy Trends After the Iran War' by Yoh Yasuda (University of Strathclyde, UK / Kyushu University / ISEP) to be Held on Thursday, May 21, 2026!!

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**Decarbonization and International Trends in Renewable Energy after the Iran War**
~The Turning Point Brought by the Middle East Crisis and the Reality of Breaking Away from Fossil Fuel Dependency~

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[Seminar Details]
https://www.ssk21.co.jp/S0000103.php?spage=pt_26267

[Instructor]
Academic Visitor, University of Strathclyde, UK
Visiting Professor, Center for Research and Education on Offshore Wind, Kyushu University
Senior Researcher, Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies (ISEP)
Mr. Yoh Yasuda

[Date & Time]
Thursday, May 21, 2026, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM

[How to Attend]
■ Venue Attendance
SSK Seminar Room
Xymax Nishi-Shimbashi Building 4F, 2-6-2 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
■ Live Streaming (Zoom Webinar)
■ Archive Streaming (2 weeks, viewable at your convenience as many times as you like)

[Key Lecture Contents]
In February 2026, the attack on Iran by Israel and the United States of America (the so-called Iran War) began, causing fossil fuel prices to soar due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Since Donald Trump took office as President in the US in 2025 (the second Trump administration), major changes have been made to the country's decarbonization and renewable energy policies. Particularly in Japan, it is often circulated through negative impressionistic arguments such as "de-decarbonization" and discourse that decarbonization and renewable energy policies have regressed internationally.

On the other hand, discussions and consensus-building on decarbonization have been rapidly advancing in recent years, centered on the UN and various international organizations. Despite setbacks like the US withdrawal, this consensus-building is rather accelerating rather than retreating every time conflicts or wars occur in places like Ukraine or Iran, and there are growing calls for further promotion of renewable energy, electric vehicles (EVs), and heat pumps. As long as we depend on fossil fuels, we are constantly exposed to price spikes and supply disruption risks. Decarbonization is increasingly seen not only as a climate change mitigation measure but also as an effective and immediate means to break away from this high-risk fossil fuel dependency structure. Such positive information rarely reaches Japan, and it can be said that the information gap and information asymmetry between domestic and international sources are increasingly widening.

In this lecture, we will first introduce international trends, recognize why there is such a divergence between international discussions and domestic discussions in Japan, and explain how things should scientifically be from the perspective of scientific methodology.

1. International Trends in Decarbonization and Japan's Position
(1) Risks of fossil fuel dependence, decarbonization as risk management
(2) Discussions on decarbonization and renewable energy in international organizations
(3) Discussions on decarbonization and renewable energy in Japan
(4) Divergence between international and domestic discussions (US != World)

2. International Discussions on Ultra-Large-Scale Introduction of Renewable Energy
(1) Electrification and sector coupling (Why EVs and heat pumps are advancing)
(2) External diseconomies and benefits (Long-term perspective and risk management)
(3) Flexibility ("Renewable energy is unstable" is an anachronism)

3. Japan's Challenges and Solutions, Methodology for Information Gathering
(1) Fake news and scientific methodology
(2) Unscientific narratives and EBMP (Evidence-Based Policy Making)
(3) AI and specialized information retrieval

4. Q&A / Business Card Exchange

*Reference: "Future with 90% Renewable Energy in 2050 - Scenarios and Scientific Evidence for Achieving Decarbonization" by Yoh Yasuda, Yama-kei Publishers (December 2024)