Amid growing concerns over energy issues, an academic conference that offered insight into the current state and future of Korean and Japanese energy and environmental policies was held at our university.

The Summer Regular Conference of the Korean Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (President Professor Eom Young-sook) was held at Jinsudang on July 6 and 7. The event presented diverse discussions under the theme "Sustainable Energy and Environmental Policies of Korea and Japan."

This conference aimed to propose directions for sustainable energy policy, heightened since the recent nuclear accident in Japan. It featured 42 research papers by Korean and Japanese environmental economists and experts. Presentations explored governance building between Korea and Japan, the promotion of region-based renewable energy industries to address climate change and energy depletion, and policy alternatives for environmental issues that have become pressing in both countries.

The conference opened with a presentation by Lee In-jae, Director of Planning and Management of North Jeolla Province, titled "The Current Status and Challenges of Renewable Energy Policy in North Jeolla Province." It was followed by a presentation by Professor Ayumi Onuma (Keio University), President of the Japanese Association of Environmental Economics and Policy, on "The Sustainability of Biodiversity Conservation."

In addition, various presentations addressed topics such as the direction and challenges of region-based renewable energy policies; the Fukushima accident and Japan's nuclear power policy; carbon markets and emissions trading; environmental policy and regulation; governance for sustainable development in East Asia; Korea–Japan energy policy and nuclear power; environmental valuation and conservation; energy and environmental economics; climate change and low-carbon green growth; and East Asian environmental policy and cooperation.

The conference was evaluated as having presented directions and policies for not only the environmental pollution and degradation recently faced by both Korea and Japan but also global environmental challenges such as climate change, energy depletion, and biodiversity conservation.

Eom Young-sook, President of the Korean Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, said, "The opportunity for scholars from Korea and Japan to discuss directions for sustainable energy policy and to come together to consider the establishment of governance in Northeast Asia is meaningful in itself. We will assess the current state of green growth and propose constructive visions for the future, and through future academic exchanges between Korean and Japanese environmental economists, we will actively respond to environmental issues."