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| NEWS |
ISAP2020: “Just Transitions Toward Sustainable Societies in Asia and the Pacific”
From 9-13 November and on 30 November, IGES will hold its annual “International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific” (ISAP2020). This year’s theme is “Just Transitions Toward Sustainable Societies in Asia and the Pacific: Building forward better for our future beyond COVID-19”. With the need for a swift response and recovery from COVID-19, as well as the chance to think about how we can redesign our societies and transform them to be more sustainable, resilient, just and inclusive, ISAP2020 will showcase IGES’ position on current and future risks, and make a call for stronger partnerships with relevant stakeholders. The forum includes participation from front-line experts and diverse stakeholders from international organisations, governments, business and NGOs. This year’s presentations will be framed in relation to the COVID-19 era, and include a just transition towards sustainable societies; strategies for waste management; decarbonisation and green recovery; collaborative learning and sustainable living; how business can strengthen SDG action; synergies between biodiversity, climate and the SDGs; promoting Japanese technology transfer to Asia, and supporting cities in the “Race to Zero Campaign”.
 More details available here |
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“Driving the Green Recovery and Redesign” at The Global Virtual Forum for Urban Leaders Taking on the Climate Emergency
On 21 October, IGES, along with ICLEI and the Ministry of the Environment Japan (MOEJ) will host a session at the “Daring Cities 2020” Forum. Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President of IGES, will provide a keynote speech focusing on the Platform for Redesign 2020. The session aims to highlight details of the concept, share the outcomes of its High Level Launch, and look at options for collaboration with local and regional policymakers on the road to COP26. Led by MOEJ, supported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and managed by IGES, the Platform for Redesign 2020 was launched on 3 September 2020 through a high level virtual event that gathered more than 50 government ministers from across the world. The Platform is an initiative to enhance international solidarity in addressing two crises at the same time: climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative introduces the concept of “redesign” as complementary to response and recovery efforts, defining it as “paradigm shifts and measures in the long-term - more than a few years to a few decades - toward redesigning current socioeconomic and sociocultural systems to be sustainable and resilient”. On 22 October, IGES, ICLEI and MOEJ will organise another session, “Pathways to Zero”, to share notable actions by local governments that promote efforts toward decarbonisation. Junichi Fujino, Programme Director of IGES City Taskforce, will moderate the session.
More details available here
Official site (External site): here |
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Launch of a Special Webpage for UNGA75
Last month IGES launched a special webpage for the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA75), which took place from 15-30 September 2020, and marked the 75th anniversary of the UN. As the world continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic, this UN General Assembly was the first in its history to be held virtually, with minimal in-person participation at the UN Headquarters in New York City. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic and recovery, progress on the SDGs, the climate crisis, and measures to address inequalities were among the most pressing themes to be tackled. The webpage collates IGES activities and outputs related to the UN General Assembly and/or its key issues, featuring relevant publications and websites that offer greater insight.
More details available here |
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Launch of a New Report: “SDGs and Business in the ESG Era: Actions by Companies and Organisations in Japan”
Global Compact Network Japan (GCNJ) and IGES launched a new report, “SDGs and Business in the ESG Era: Actions by Companies and Organisations in Japan”, summarising the results of a survey on progress that leading Japanese businesses are making towards realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This report also examines how both financial institutions and companies address ESG finance. Its main findings include insights into the level of awareness about the SDGs among top management, sustainability management in companies, and ESG investment and financing.
More details available here
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| EVENTS |
“Waste-to-Energy Incineration”, a Webinar from the CCET Guideline Series
On 28 October, IGES will co-present the first of three webinars dedicated to assisting policymakers and practitioners in developing countries with their selection of appropriate waste management technologies, and in carrying out related policies and strategies to improve management of waste. As developing countries’ economic growth accelerates, proper treatment of the increasing amount of waste is an important challenge for all societies. There is an urgent need to provide reliable information so that policymakers and practitioners have a clear and holistic view of all waste management technologies. In this context, the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET) and the United Nations Environment Programme International Environmental Technology Centre (UNEP IETC) started to develop a series of guidelines, in collaboration with the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) and the Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management (JSMCWM). The webinar series aims to give attendees a deeper understanding of the guidelines through a discussion on existing technologies, their advantages and disadvantages, as well as related challenges people may face on the ground. The first webinar in late October focuses on waste-to-energy (WtE), while the next two, planned for November and December, will cover composting, followed by mechanical biological treatment (MBT).
More details available here |
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E-learning Class: Greening Voluntary National Reviews and National Sustainable Development Goal Strategies
During October, IGES will co-host a free e-learning class focused on greening voluntary national reviews and SDGs. The class is intended for policymakers hoping to strengthen the environmental dimensions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as members of civil society organisations or businesses who want to know more about how governments can green the SDGs. There are three parts to the class: 1) essential background on the SDGs; 2) understanding environmental dimensions of the SDGs; and 3) means of implementation for the environmental dimensions of the SDGs. The class consists of streamable videos and quizzes that can be viewed and attempted any time after registration. The class was created by IGES, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Please register for the class using the sign-up sheet (registration open until 15 October): here
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HLPF2020 Outreach Event: “Japan's Role in Recovering from the COVID-19 Pandemic and Achievement of the SDGs”
On 30 September, IGES co-hosted, along with MOEJ, an outreach event titled “Report on the United Nations High-Level Political Forum 2020: Japan's Role in Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic and Achievement of the SDGs”. The UN has designated the 2020s as the "decade of action to deliver the SDGs by 2030", and calls on all countries and stakeholders to take accelerated actions toward achieving the SDGs. However, at the start of this important decade, the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a serious impact on economies, societies and human health worldwide. At the HLPF, held online in July 2020, the message was clear: the 2030 Agenda should be placed at the heart of the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as a guide to building back better. One of the keys to accelerating action to achieve the SDGs is understanding interrelated issues, and enhancing synergies between different policies and initiatives. This event considered key questions such as: How can countries and stakeholders strengthen their actions to maximise these synergies, and take the lead on “building back better”? And what role can the Japanese government and stakeholders play in this process? The event took place with participation from UN officials, the business sector, academia, youth and international media to explore these questions and share Japan's principal efforts with the world.
More details available here
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11th High-Level Seminar on Sustainable Cities
On 29-30 September, IGES co-organised the High-Level Seminar (HLS) on Sustainable Cities. The seminar is organised annually as a platform to gather influential East and Southeast Asia policymakers, experts and practitioners working to make cities clean, green and sustainable. It provided an opportunity for participants to share and promote their latest ideas and initiatives on sustainable city development; explore collaboration potential; and, importantly, develop specific recommendations for the East Asia Summit Environment Ministers Meeting, which includes ASEAN Environment Ministers, on practical cooperation activities on environmentally sustainable cities. This year’s HLS, held as a webinar series, consisted of three parts, an opening high-level plenary, a thematic segment and a concluding session, where participants exchanged views and discussed the direction of cities’ development.
More details available here
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Public Release of “Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Response to Recovery”
On 18 September, at the 31st Annual Conference of Japan Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management, IGES released its “Waste Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: From Response to Recovery” report. This included a presentation by Kazunobu Onogawa, Director of the IGES Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies (CCET). The report, jointly developed by UNEP, UNEP IETC and IGES CCET, provides practical information, suggestions and guidelines on Healthcare Waste Management (HCWM) and Municipal Solid Waste Management (MSWM) given the restrictions and limitations imposed by the ongoing pandemic, including lack of human resources, technologies, equipment and funds. It does so by building on existing and ad-hoc information rapidly extracted from existing documents and responses to a national questionnaire survey. The report introduces various practices, including best available options for immediate consideration, as well as those for sustainable healthcare waste management in the future, with a focus on developing countries.
More details available here
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Support for International Conference on Science and Technology for Sustainability 2020: “‘Social Inclusion in the Global Era’ -Sustainable post-COVID-19 Society-”
Now that the mobility of people and goods that form the basis of the global era is being restricted greatly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the issues of sustainability and inclusion at the global level are becoming more important than ever. On 3-4 September, IGES supported an online conference where participants discussed how to make our future inclusive and sustainable, including issues surrounding the transformative change for CO2 mitigation in the “New Normal” post-COVID-19. The conference consisted of two sessions: (1) Issues in Asia and the Role of Japan, and (2) Global Challenge and the Role of Academics. Panelists included prominent scholars specialising in social policy, sociology and political science, whose presentations led to insightful discussions about what academic institutions can do in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
More details available here
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