 |
 |
| NEWS |
Updated Memorandum of Understanding Between IGES and UNESCAP
On 31 March, IGES and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that reaffirmed their desire to work together in areas of mutual interest in the service of the Asia-Pacific region. With a focus on the environment and sustainable development, the two organisations will collaborate on 1) synergising efforts to increase the effectiveness and impact of their respective work; and 2) enhancing the science-policy interface in Asia and the Pacific through joint analytical and capacity-building work that promote informed policy dialogues. The priority areas for their combined efforts include resource efficiency and circular economy; waste and plastic pollution; climate change; air pollution; sustainable cities; biodiversity; disaster risk reduction; sustainable urban mobility; and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Specific activities include exchange of information and research, invitations to meetings, conferences, and other fora, and periodic consultations.
 More details available here |
|
IGES becomes a Knowledge Partner of the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy to Support World’s Transition
On 24 March, IGES announced that it joined the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) as a Knowledge Partner. PACE, a global community of leaders working together to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, was created in 2018 by the World Economic Forum and is now hosted by the World Resources Institute. A number of organisations support PACE’s work, and the Knowledge Partners include leaders on research and policy analysis on the circular economy. Through this partnership, IGES will provide knowledge and references, particularly related to Japan and the Asia-Pacific region, thereby strengthening the network and efforts of businesses, governments, researchers, consumers and civil society to support the circular economy on a global scale. At the same time, IGES will also support the development of a circular economy in Japan, by accumulating and disseminating global trends and best practices. As part of the ongoing collaboration between IGES and PACE, the two parties are working together in the Circular Economy Indicators Coalition to connect metrics development efforts across different sectors and geographies.
More details available here |
|
Updated Memorandum of Understanding Between IGES and START
On 23 March, IGES and START International Inc. signed an amendment to their Memorandum of Understanding. IGES was represented by its President, Kazuhiko Takeuchi, and START was represented by its Executive Director, Jon Padgham. The signing ceremony was held virtually, and was facilitated by Yasuo Takahashi, Executive Director of IGES. The purpose of the agreement is to enhance collaboration between IGES and START, bringing their resources together to advance initiation of the Circulating and Ecological Sphere (CES) platform for South Asia and Southeast Asia. The platform will enable science-policy interactions in co-developing priority actions that 1) incorporate and adapt key elements of the CES framework and 2) are shaped by priorities within specific local contexts.
More details available here
|
|
Update: Platform for Redesign 2020
The Platform for Redesign welcomed new submissions from Colombia and Armenia, and updated policies and measures from Australia, Canada and Russia in March. To learn more about each country’s contributions, please visit the respective country pages on the Platform for Redesign 2020 website. The website also provides information under News & Events on Russia’s new bill to regulate GHG emissions. The new submissions and updated measures have also been reflected in the latest descriptive statistics and graphs illustrating national actions by time frame, main category and sub-category.
More details available here
|
|
Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President of IGES, Receives the MIDORI Academic Award
On 23 April, Kazuhiko Takeuchi, President of IGES, will receive the 2021 MIDORI Academic Prize, in recognition of his achievements in “practicing landscape ecology and developing it into sustainability science, to realise a society in harmony with nature”. The award is given by the Prime Minister to individuals who have made outstanding academic achievements in the field of “greenery”, including research and development of technologies related to plants, forests, green space, landscaping, and nature conservation in Japan.
More details available here
|
|
| UPCOMING EVENT |
Webinar: “Prospects for US Climate Policy in the Biden Administration”
On 9 April, Mark Elder, Director of Research and Publications at IGES, will give a webinar, “Prospects for US Climate Policy in the Biden Administration”. This will include a survey of the main initial elements of the Biden administration's climate strategies and policies and exploration of their potential future direction, including the possibility of carbon pricing and carbon border adjustment. He will also explain the overall structure of the Biden administration's climate policymaking process.
More details available here |
|
| PAST EVENTS |
“IGES Side Events at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) 2021”
On 23 March, IGES held a side event at APFSD, “Carbon neutrality: The future of Asia-Pacific -- Contribution to the transition toward decarbonisation”, which included discussion about how to accelerate actions to achieve carbon neutrality as well as contribute to multiple targets in the SDGs, even during the current pandemic. The event explored various policy pathways, including green recovery, in addition to technologies, finance, capacity building and partnerships such as city-to-city cooperation. Participants included representatives from national and local governments, the private sector and others. An additional side event on 25 March, “Zero Waste Solutions towards a Regenerative Asia-Pacific Region”, led to discussions about how to develop and implement zero waste cities, policies, plans and strategies through peer learning and opportunities to strengthen linkages between local, national, regional and global actors. The dialogue also illustrated lessons for financial institutions, policymakers and civil society for accelerating transformations to implement the 2030 Agenda while recovering sustainably from the COVID-19 pandemic.
23 March event details here
25 March event details here
|
|
“The 2nd Kitakyushu SDGs Training”
IGES Kitakyushu Urban Centre hosted the 2nd Kitakyushu SDGs Training on 23 & 24 March as an online event in collaboration with NPO Satoyama. The aim of this training session was to provide an opportunity for knowledge-sharing and networking discussions. On Day 1, participants gained knowledge about global trends in SDGs localisation and Kitakyushu’s contribution, and on Day 2, they learned about local actions for the SDGs in Kitakyushu.
More details available here
|
|
“Zero Carbon City International Forum”
IGES played a leading role in organising this forum, which was hosted by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan on 17 and 18 March, with IGES researchers participating in some sessions as speakers. IGES’ contribution was mentioned in a video message from John Kerry, the US Special Envoy to the President on Climate Change. Japanese Minister of the Environment, KOIZUMI Shinjiro, shared Japanese actions toward carbon neutrality, and cities from Japan and abroad shared advanced case studies. The forum emphasised that it is important to create a decarbonisation domino effect through multi-level cooperation. Videos of opening remarks from Minister Koizumi, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and Special Envoy John Kerry can be viewed on the IGES website. Presentation materials and other videos will also be available soon.
More details available here
|
|
“The 7th International Conference on 3Rs (3RINCs)”
On 11 March and 15-19 March, the 7th 3R International Scientific Conference was held online. Although social activity has stagnated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many parts of the world have already begun to rebuild their economies with green recovery policies. Green recovery is also required in the field of waste and material cycling. Under these circumstances, global academics, policymakers and business representatives, especially those from the Asia-Pacific region, came together for interdisciplinary discussions. Videos and presentation materials are now available on the 3RINCs website.
More details available here
3RINCs website here
|
|
“The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation Forum”
The 7th Asia-Pacific Climate Change Adaptation (APAN) Forum was held online from 8-12 March under the theme “Enabling Resilience for All: The Critical Decade to Scale-up Action”. With Japan as the host country, IGES provided operational support to the Forum alongside the Ministry of the Environment, Japan. A link to the video archives has been posted on the IGES website.
More details available here
Video Archives here
|
|
| INTERNSHIP |
| The Research and Publications Unit of the Strategic Management Office Calls for Internship Applicants
|
More details available here
Note: This newsletter follows the Japanese government’s naming convention, with names of Japanese officials written “LAST NAME first name”. All other Japanese names are written in the standard English style, “first name last name”.
|
|
|
