On behalf of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), I would like to express how pleased I am to be able to co-host the RD20, where leaders from flagship research institutions around the world have discussions in the field of clean energy.

As the world’s economies recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the concept of a “Green Recovery” is gaining momentum, and it is becoming increasingly important to improve scientific knowledge, which will form the basis for discussions on tackling climate change. I hope that collaborations among research institutions will be further promoted to demonstrate the power of science to achieve sustainable societies, including developing both infection control and climate change countermeasures.

I would like to extend my greetings on the occasion of the 2nd RD20.

RD20 was established as a Japanese initiative through the “G20 Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth” in June last year.

While the world economy is being hit hard by the novel coronavirus pandemic, Japan held an online ministerial meeting of the “Online Platform” on a Sustainable and Resilient Recovery from COVID-19 this September. At this ministerial meeting, we discussed the technological innovations including zero-emission technology and major changes in lifestyle as necessary elements in redesigning our socio-economic systems.

Japan emphasized in this meeting the efforts toward decarbonization, such as a drastic revision of its policy on export of coal-fired power plants and “zero-carbon cities.”

Realization of a hydrogen society, floating offshore wind turbines, CCUS (Carbon dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage), cellulose nanofibers (CNF) and gallium nitride (GaN) are some of the concrete examples of innovations in Japan. Also, as a direct response to the coronavirus pandemic, we will promote the realization of zero-emission data centers that responds to the increase in information communication volume and the shift to EV in the logistics field.

We hope that this RD20 will help expand the cycle of producing innovation toward the vigorous recovery of the world economy.

Science and technology, which has developed along with us, has given rise to enumerable wealth and prosperity. Recent years have seen tremendous developments in the information field, such as AI, IoT and 5G. Through their integration, social infrastructures have become increasingly sophisticated. On the other hand, science and technology has also caused environmental issues such as global warming. To solve such large-scale and complex issues, international, interdisciplinary collaboration is imperative.

Under these circumstances, “RD20：Research and Development 20 for clean energy technologies,” aimed at collaboration among G20 research institutions on clean energy technologies, was begun in 2019. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference this year will be held online. Regardless of how and where the conference is held, with a view to achieving sustainable recovery both during and after pandemic of COVID-19, expectations toward clean energy and the momentum for holding the conference are heightened more than before.

Dr. YOSHINO Akira, Director of the Global Zero Emission Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST-GZR), and winner of the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, opened up possibilities for resolving global issues through the development of the secondary lithium ion battery. He will be one of our key speakers in both the technical and leaders’ sessions this year. A Summary of opinions by each of the participating institutes will also be given. I hope that this year’s RD20, in conjunction with ICEF, the TCFD Summit, etc., will serve as an opportunity for furthering international collaboration toward resolving environmental issues.

Finally, I would like to conclude by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to the representatives of research institutions from G20 member countries, the speakers, and last, but not least, respective governments of G20 member countries for their support.