The 20-Year
History of IGES
Foreword
The Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) was established in April 1998 under an initiative of the Japanese government and with the support of Kanagawa Prefecture, as an institute conducting practical and innovative policy research to open up a new era for the global environment. Its mission as outlined in the Charter for the Establishment of IGES, aims to achieve sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, a region which has seen serious environmental challenges along with rapidly growing economic development, as well as to redefine the values and value systems of our material-based society, creating new ways for humankind to operate and a new paradigm for civilisation, showing the way for a reconstruction of the mechanisms of an economic society.
In 2018, IGES celebrates its 20th anniversary. The Institute has conducted strategic research that accurately captures policy issues over the years, and based on the results, has carried out activities to contribute to the formation of policies by making effective proposals. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those concerned who, during these past two decades, have made unprecedented efforts in the establishment and operations of IGES.
The international community is making progress on various issues, based on the two historic agreements that were made in 2015, namely the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, it goes without saying that there is still a major gap between these movements and the actions necessary for the transformation of socioeconomic systems. In order to accelerate change, there must be further collaboration among non-state actors such as cities and local communities, companies and financial institutions, in addition to conventional state actors. It is also vital to co-design and co-implement a path to accelerate actions for change.
IGES formulated its Medium-to-Long term Strategy (MLS) in 2016. In the MLS, the next 10 years until 2025 is taken as the “Decade of Action” for transformation to a sustainable world, with a major goal to envision the ideal for a sustainable, resilient, shared and inclusive Asia-Pacific region and the world, where planetary boundaries are fully respected, a green economy is flexibly implemented, and the human well-being is steadily improved. Positioning itself as a Change Agent to promote a transition to a sustainable society, IGES hopes to further build on cooperation accumulated so far with national and local governments, international organisations, universities and research institutes, companies, NGOs and citizens, and promote research for evidence-based policymaking based on scientific knowledge as well as to contribute to setting up an international agenda and discussion framework.
I would like to ask for your continued understanding and support for IGES research activities going forward.
President, IGES
Prof. Kazuhiko Takeuchi