Seminar: US LNG build-out and Japan's involvement
From the end of 2024 to the beginning of 2025, various energy and climate change policies are being discussed in Japan, including the 7th Strategic Energy Plan and new climate change goals (NDC). As we face the climate crisis and energy crisis, the need to break away from dependence on fossil fuels is becoming clearer. ” However, LNG, or fossil gas, is being promoted as cleaner energy, or as bridge fuel. In the United States, where gas is extracted, communities are raising strong voices about the pollution and health impacts caused by the gas industry.
As a member of the G7, Japan has already committed to end direct public support for overseas fossil fuel projects by the end of 2022. However, Japan still invests the largest amount of public funds in the LNG business in the world, and this is not unrelated to the environmental and social impacts of gas development sites in the United States. In this seminar, we will hear community members who are affected by gas development and NGOs working on the front lines in the Gulf Coast region and the Permian Basin, where gas extraction is concentrated, about the current state of gas business and the impact of methane. Please join us.
| When | January 30th 2025 Thursday 5PM – 7PM (Please collect the pass to enter the room at the lobby. Staff will distribute the pass from 4:30PM) |
| Where | Internatinoal Meeting Room, Lower house Parliamentarians’ building (Shugiin Daiichi Giin Kaikan) 2-2-1, Nagata cho, Chiyoda ward, Tokyo https://maps.app.goo.gl/WZZztqCDh1c4BJoR6 Nearest stations Kokkaigijidomae Station on Marunouchi Line (Exit 1) Nagatacho Station on Yurakucho/Nanboku/Hanzomon line (Exit 1) Tameikesanno Station on Nanboku/Ginza line (Exit 5) |
| Registration | Attend in person: Form （Capacity: 100 people） Attend online Zoom registration form |
| Language | Japanese and English （Interpretation available） |
| Entrance fee | Free |
| Host | FoE Japan |
●Speakers
Sharon Wilson
Sharon is the founder of Oilfield Witness, which uses optical gas imaging technology to expose the dirty secrets of oil and gas. We leverage this intelligence to educate the public and policy makers to strengthen climate movements.
Sharon is a 5th generation Texan who worked for the oil and gas industry in Ft. Worth, but was unaware of any environmental issues. After 12 years, she left the industry and bought 42 acres in Wise County adjacent to the LBJ National Grasslands. Unknown to her at the time was that George Mitchell was experimenting in Wise County to figure out how to produce oil and gas from shale. She had a ringside seat at the sneak preview called Fracking Impacts. As she watched her air turn brown and, eventually, her water turn black she documented it all on her blog texassharon.com. Sharon and her son moved to Denton, Texas thinking the city would provide more protection. Sharon has briefed NATO Parliamentary Assembly, EPA regulators and even former Administrator Gina McCarthy on the impacts of oil and gas extraction. In 2014, she became a certified optical gas imaging thermographer and now travels across the U.S. making visible the invisible methane pollution from oil and gas facilities and giving tours to media, Members of Congress, state lawmakers, regulators, and investment bankers.
Related articles：
・When Natural Gas Prices Cool, Flares Burn in the Permian Basin (Inside Climate News, 2024)
・メタンハンター、温暖化「犯人」の追跡者 特殊カメラで油井やガス井を監視、可視化（朝日新聞、2022年)
Manning Rollerson
Manning Rollerson Jr III is a Freeport resident and an advocate for his community. A deacon and grandfather of 27, Manning was a resident of the displaced East End community of Freeport and has been active in the fight for justice for the community whose rights were violated. He is the founder of Freeport Haven project, a non profit focused on housing and environmental justice. He is an outspoken activist fighting against local corruption and industrial pollution along the Gulf Coast in an area where people’s health and safety is severely impacted by the fossil fuel industry.
Related articles：
Japan fuels U.S. LNG boom even as climate targets and impacts loom (Japan Times, 2024)
「私たちは毎日危険と隣り合わせに生きている」ーアメリカ・メキシコ湾岸ガス開発現場視察報告（１）(FoE Japanブログ、2024)
