The Journal of the International Energy Agency - IEA

NEWS
NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE IEA
NOBUO
TANAKA
strong concerns and the negative views on
nuclear prevail. But gradually it changes
back again. When I came here, there was a
big discussion of a nuclear renaissance. Many
countries started moving to nuclear power
because it is sustainable, clean energy, without
CO 2
emissions.
AFTER FOUR YEARS, NOBUO TANAKA STEPPED
DOWN AS IEA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR THIS SUM-
MER TO TAKE ON HIS NEXT ENERGY ROLE IN A
38-YEAR CAREER BEGUN IN JAPAN’S MINISTRY
OF ECONOMY, TRADE AND INDUSTRY.
On the other hand, it is clear after the
Fukushima incident that safety is issue number
one to make this power acceptable to the
public. So we would like Japan to come back
with lessons from this tragedy and make nuclear
power much safer in the future. And I
believe it will happen – eventually.
In your four years as Executive Director,
what do you see as the IEA’s greatest contribution
to global good and security?
I think we have drawn non-member countries
much closer to the IEA, countries like
China, India, Russia, Brazil, South Africa,
Indonesia. It is getting to be more and more
the case that, without these countries, we
cannot really achieve important energypolicy
targets such as energy security and all
the sustainability issues. That was my first
thought when I came here: how can we draw
them closer, even to become members of the
IEA, earlier than the OECD? I think we have
in fact succeeded: these countries are working
very closely with us in many areas, like
security, technologies or efficiency works. On
the other hand, still they are not yet members
of the IEA.
So do you see the IEA as an entry point to
membership in the OECD?
They are hesitant to be a part of the OECD
because the OECD is considered a rich man’s
club. The IEA is a more technical organisation,
focusing more on energy security. To
have a strategic stockpile and use it jointly,
collectively, to smooth the energy market, is
of very strong interest to these countries.
What steps did the IEA take under you to
help non-member countries best co-operate
with the Agency on energy security?
We have continuously been inviting them to
confidence-building exercises, like seminars
or emergency-response exercises. We have
invited some of the secondees, the young professional
staff of these countries – sometimes
statisticians, sometimes policy experts – to
work with us. These bottom-up efforts certainly
help them to understand what is possible
and what kind of benefit they can get
from working closer with us.
You are known to maintain that “the age of
cheap energy is over”. What is the most critical
fallout from this change of eras?
From the demand and supply situation or
market situation, certainly the cheap age
is over. Of course, the cost of production is
getting higher and higher. Easy oil or gas
will be more and more limited, so it is inevitable
that the cost and the price will be
higher. There are plenty of big, new consumers
coming in China, India and then Africa
and Asia. Underground there are plenty of
resources, and they can be developed and
supplied accordingly, but the price is getting
higher.
The point is that if the price is doubling but
if our energy efficiency is also doubling, the
total expense would be the same. That is
probably the only way the consumer countries
can have sustainable and economically
healthy development. So demand-side measures
are much, much more important in
the future. We have started this sort of work
in efficiency in the automobile or transportation
or housing sector, etc. The IEA started
as a kind of supply-side
organisation. But we have
to deal with and make
policies on the demand
side. Knowledge in the demand
side is very different
from the supply side.
How has the situation for
nuclear power changed
during your tenure?
From time to time people’s
attitudes toward nuclear
have changed. Whenever
a big accident happens
– Three Mile Island or
Chernobyl – there are very
But when we think about this issue for Japan,
its electricity grid gives a very important hint.
Because of this catastrophe, Japan has faced
serious blackouts. We think the lesson Japan
learned is that they need to use diversified
sources, diversified routes. Eventually what
I want to see is more regional – or beyondborder
– grid connectivity. A more common
energy market is what we should aim for,
even though politically it is very difficult.
There’s another important lesson. Because
nuclear is so political and easy to be politicised,
governments change policy very often
on nuclear – on and off when the government
changes, and sometimes even within
the same government, like in Germany.
Then it is very difficult to convince a private
company to invest the huge amount of
money needed at the beginning and then to
maintain the plant for 30, 35 years or more.
Any words of advice to your successor?
“Don’t travel too much.” It’s so tiring. That is
exactly the advice I was given by my predecessor.
“Don’t travel too much.”
Nobuo Tanaka: © OECD/IEA, 2007; Nobuo Tanaka with solar panels: © OECD/IEA, 2010
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The Journal of the International Energy Agency