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| NEWS |
Launch of the UNEA-5.2 Special Webpage
The second part of the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) began on 28 February and will continue until 2 March. IGES’ UNEA-5.2 special webpage features perspectives from IGES researchers through commentaries and a podcast episode, as well as related publications. The podcast addresses questions such as: What should we expect from UNEA-5.2? How strong do countries wish environmental governance to be? How is UNEA different from other international processes?
 More details available here |
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New Reports Added to the VLR Lab in February
IGES manages the VLR Lab, an online platform offering comprehensive information about local government actions on the SDGs. The Voluntary Local Review (VLR) is an international initiative in which local governments conduct their own evaluation of actions on the SDGs and publish the results as a report comparable with other local governments. In February, the VLR Lab received three reports from Hawai’i (US), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Winnipeg (Canada).
More details available here |
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| UPCOMING EVENTS |
"International Conference for Implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement"
With the finalisation of the Article 6 rulebook (market mechanisms) under the Paris Agreement at COP26, it has become important to expand the implementation of market mechanisms globally. Against this backdrop, on 7 March, IGES and the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) will co-host the second part of an international conference on promoting understanding and capacity building for expanding the implementation of Article 6 (the first part was held on 17 February). The conference will share experiences from other existing initiatives, and will be streamed live on the IGES YouTube channel.
More details available here |
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"The Second Zero Carbon City International Forum"
Subnational governments are increasingly becoming leading actors in decarbonisation. They have an important role to play in pursuing the net-zero target, raising ambitions at the local level and strengthening urban resilience. The net-zero emission target requires bold measures to transform our social systems. While this will not be an easy task, it will give us opportunities to build back better from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) will host this conference on 9-10 March in collaboration with IGES, ICLEI and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This event will be streamed live on the IGES YouTube channel.
More details available here |
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The 3rd Kitakyushu SDGs Training: "Initiating a Decarbonized Domino Effect in Kyushu Region, Japan ～Learn how Kitakyushu City & Goto City integrate environment, economy & society through local renewable energy～"
The IGES Kitakyushu Urban Centre will organise a bilingual (English-Japanese) online event on 15 March. Participants will learn how the two leading zero-carbon cities in the Kyushu region, namely Kitakyushu City (Fukuoka Prefecture) and Goto City (located on the remote Goto islands, Nagasaki Prefecture), are integrating the three pillars of the SDGs: environment, economy and society. Kitakyushu and Goto are pioneering local production and consumption of renewable energy, particularly with the implementation of offshore wind power generation, and are currently scaling up their pilot initiatives to large-scale commercial wind farms. During this event, local governments and various stakeholders from both cities will speak about their strategies and actions on the ground.
More details available here |
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"Greening Health Care Waste Management: Policies and Good Practices"
With the spread of COVID-19, countermeasures against infection from medical waste have become a worldwide issue, especially in developing countries. Moreover, the carbon footprint of the healthcare sector accounts for 4.4% of global net emissions, and the recent increase in medical waste raises concerns about its environmental impact. This webinar on 16 March invites experts to introduce and discuss policies, best practices and challenges in building a safe and sustainable healthcare infrastructure based on recent research findings and notable operations.
More details available here |
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Integrated Programme for Better Air Quality in Asia (IBAQ) Technology Roundtable and Fair for Combating Air Pollution and Climate Change in Asia
The IBAQ is supporting the implementation of clean air action plans and technologies to help address air pollution and climate change in Asia. Aligned with this objective, IGES and Clean Air Asia (CAA) are co-organising a virtual technology event with support from the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ) on 22 March. The event is aimed at introducing technologies that can help address air pollution and climate change in Southeast Asia’s cities, and it will also foster opportunities for transferring and tailoring technologies to city needs. The event is based on the results of a series of needs assessments, capacity building, and technical assistance work with air quality and climate change practitioners from cities in Southeast Asia. Those activities suggest cities’ needs include ambient air quality monitoring technologies, sustainable transport solutions and solar photovoltaic (PV) applications. The event is aimed at businesses in Japan and other countries hoping to make connections with cities interested in sustainable transport, renewable energy and air pollution monitoring technologies.
More details available here |
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| PAST EVENTS |
ACP/ IIASA International Webinar: "How can systems analysis help align climate change, air pollution, and sustainable development policies in Asia: Opportunities for collaboration"
One key to moving down sustainable development paths is integrating climate change mitigation with broader development needs. In Asia, integrating climate change and air pollution can bring multiple benefits or co-benefits. One of the most powerful analytical tools for identifying interventions that can maximise the co-benefits from complex and interrelated issues of climate change and air pollution is systems analysis. Held on 22 February, this international webinar showcased collaborative research activities between the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), a world leader in the field of systems analysis, and countries in Asia, including Japan, that can help quantify, integrate and advance co-benefits. It deepened the discussion on how systems analysis and other cutting-edge research techniques could strengthen international cooperation on integrated policies for sustainable development (with a focus on linking climate change and air pollution strategies).
More details available here |
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Webinar: "Aligning international finance for the net-zero economy: A common challenge for Japan and Germany"
Facing a common challenge in moving away from coal, Germany and Japan are accelerating energy transitions and promoting innovation. At the Cornwall G7, the two countries and the rest of the G7 agreed to commit to ending unabated coal power exports. This webinar held on 8 February shared various perspectives on decarbonisation policy in Germany and Japan, while discussing new initiatives to help Southeast Asian countries and South Africa move away from coal-fired power plants.
More details available here |
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Knowledge-Exchange Webinar Series 3: "Assessing and Reporting Climate and Sustainable Development Impacts of Mitigation Actions and Policies under the Paris Agreement"
Policies and projects promoting sustainable development include the use of safeguards to avoid negative impacts, can increase stakeholder support and public acceptance, increase market value and raise ambition on climate action. The growing awareness of integrated solutions is related to development of new SDG assessment tools to help identify how projects and policies can maximise benefits, as well as avoid or mitigate negative impacts. On 3 February, a webinar co-organised by IGES, the Asian Development Bank and UNEP DTU Partnership provided policymakers and stakeholders with an introduction to existing and new SDG assessment tools at the project level in Asia.
More details available here |
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| RECRUITMENT / INTERNSHIP |
| The Research and Publications Unit of the Strategic Management Office (SMO-RP) Internship |
| More details available here |
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