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| IGES Efforts towards the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit |
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| Reflecting the worldwide trend calling for a solution to the issue of climate change, global environment issues were at the top of the agenda at the G8
Summit held in Toyako, Hokkaido in July 2008. As a process of international dialogue was unfolding in the run up to the G8 summit, with such globally
noteworthy events such as G20 Chiba and the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting, IGES was vigorously making policy recommendations and providing
information based on its research results. It is also making practical contributions to achieve meaningful policy dialogues.
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G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit
7-9 July 2008, Toyako, Hokkaido, Japan |
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 The Group of Eight (G8) Summit is an annual meeting attended by the leaders of the eight countries, namely, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, and the President of the European Commission. At July's G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, world leaders discussed the environmental concerns, world economy, African development and other pressing issues that must be tackled.
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| >> For details, please visit the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit website |
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Roundtable on Climate Change
15 June 2008, Tokyo, Japan
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Taking place just before the G8 Toyako Summit, the "Roundtable on Climate Change" was organised by the Aoyama Gakuin University, Aoyama Gakuin University, School of International Politics, Economics and Communication, Embassy of Denmark, Tokyo and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).
The Roundtable, which was conducted in accordance with the Chatham House Rules, featured discussions on themes which will be major issues at COP15 and exchanged opinions on issues such as: 1) International Efforts on Climate Change; 2) Climate Change Policies in Developing and Developed Countries; 3) Climate Change Policies in Japan; and 4) Future international negotiations. |
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 For details |
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Contributions to the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting
24-26 May 2008, Kobe, Japan |
The G8 Environment Ministers Meeting was held
in Kobe from 24 to 26 May. Environment Ministers
from the G8 countries held discussions on the main
themes of“Climate Change”,“Biodiversity”and
“the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle)”, and the G8
agreement was drawn up. IGES contributed papers
for discussion summarising the main points of each
issue. IGES also assisted the meeting by supporting
the preparation of the Chair’s summary incorporating
a plan of action G8 member countries jointly
committed to take.
IGES has supported the preparation of the Chair’s
summary for the Second Round of International
Experts Meeting on Illegal Logging held in March,
and the preparatory meeting for the G8 Environment
Ministers Meeting in April, and has been actively
involved in the series of events making up the policy
process in the approach to the G8 Summit in July. |
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| G8 Environment Ministers Meeting Official Website (Ministry of the Environment, Japan
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Special Symposium in Commemoration of the G8 Environment
Ministers Meeting
Climate Change and Water
- Message from the Symposium Delivered to the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting-
24-26 May 2008, Kobe, Japan |
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On 23 May 2008, IGES organised the symposium
on climate change and water in cooperation with
GLOBE Japan (the Global Legislators Organisation
for a Balanced Environment), the Ministry of the
Environment of Japan and the Japan Water Forum.
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC,
delivered a keynote speech on“climate change and
water”which requires international attention and
efforts to safeguard the lives of the earth’s
population and to preserve a sound environment,
and there were panel presentations on the current
situation and practical ways to tackle the problem.
The alpinist Mr. Ken Noguchi showed photographs
of glacial lakes and sounded the alarm bell about
the growing danger of lakes in the Himalayas
bursting due to the impact of global warming. Ms.
Margaret Catley-Carlson, patron of the Global
Water Partnership and member of the UN
Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Water and
Sanitation, asking for a balance between mitigation
and adaptation to climate change, emphasised the
importance of Integrated Water Resources
Management (IWRM). Dr. Hiroshi Sato, Executive
Vice President of Kobe Steel Ltd. introduced
technology for an urban iron producer that makes
use of water taking into account the environment.
He also proposed the use of high-technology
developed by private businesses to contribute to
water- and energy-saving and flood prevention. Dr.
Shuzo Nishioka, a Senior Research Advisor at
IGES, commented that research was necessary to
clarify the functions of ecosystems and the
interaction between the various elements that make
up the natural world, as well as to quantify the
impact that climate change has on human society.
In the discussion following each presentation, it
was confirmed that while dealing with the issue of
climate change impact on water, it is vital to
ascertain the necessary technical approaches, and to
change the values of each person and have the
political will to back the participation of various
stakeholders in order to make progress towards a
low carbon society.
The output of the symposium was delivered to the
G8 Environment Ministers Meeting at Dialogue
with Stakeholders on 24 May by a representative
of GLOBE Japan, as the“Message from the
Symposium.” |
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| Report of the Special Symposium in Commemoration of the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting - Climate Change and Water- |
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| Previous Activities |
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| Contribution to the Blair Initiative |
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Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister visited Japan in March 2008. During his visit, there was an Expert Briefing for the initiative "Breaking the Deadlock: The Path to an International Climate Change Agreement" which was launched by Mr. Blair. IGES was invited to the briefing to exchange views on trends in Japan's climate change policies and on incentives to encourage the positive participation of major emitting countries such as China and India in the US International Framework. At the meeting, Mr. Blair called on IGES to actively participate in the Initiative. |
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| For details |
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| Symposium on "Actions against Global Warming:Japan’s Role in the World" |
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On 16 March 2008, IGES invited Mr. Blair to speak at a
symposium entitled“Actions against Global
Warming: Japan’s Role in the World” organised
jointly with Nikkei Inc. and the Japan Center for
Economic Research.
In his keynote address, Mr. Blair stated the
importance of cooperation between developed and
developing countries to tackle global warming and
expressed his hopes that Japan would use its strong
leadership in science and technology as well as its
geographical position in Asia. |
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| For details |
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| Relevant Links |
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