Publications

India’s national government has offered strong support for the development of green hydrogen as part of the country’s clean energy transition. However, much of the actual progress in this transition will depend not on national but subnational governments. This paper argues that India’s subnational governments have significant potential to...

Microplastics (MPs) are impacting coastal and ocean ecosystem and also have been linked with ‘blue economy’, which accounts major portion to the total economy of a nation. The ocean serves as a sink for MPs, receiving them from rivers, runoff, industrial effluents, and direct waste discharge. Consequently, marine organisms are impacted, leading to...

The Mutual Learning Program for Enhanced Transparency (MLP), implemented and funded by the Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ), aims to assist countries to prepare their Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) under the enhanced transparency framework of the Paris Agreement through mutual learning of practices. This summary report presents the...

The Mekong Delta region is increasingly challenged by a declining and irregular water budget over recent decades. This trend is evidenced by altered precipitation patterns, characterized by drier wet seasons and wetter dry seasons, along with diminished upstream flow and a shifting wet season flood pulse. This study presents a comprehensive...

As the 2030 deadline for achieving the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) draws near, the lack of measurable progress is cause for concern. However, qualitative advancements at the local level provide a hopeful perspective for continued development beyond 2030. Cities, in particular, are pivotal in driving the global...

The year 2023 marked a concerning milestone in climate history with the global average temperature being 1.45 ± 0.12°C above the pre-industrial average. The Global Stocktake at COP28 showed that the projected temperature rise is expected to be between 2.1 - 2.8°C even if nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of all countries are fully achieved...

This study aims to investigate how urban residents interact with Urban Green Spaces (UGSs) in Nagpur, India, specifically focusing on the patterns of visitation and engagement. Data were collected via a face-to-face questionnaire survey using the Survey 123 app. The analysis included interaction (types of UGSs, visitation frequency, and UGS...

IGES's Hotta presented on Japan's marine plastic waste countermeasures and policies at an international conference on marine plastic pollution hosted by Ocean Conservation Administration in Taiwan. This conference featured contributions from government officials and experts from Japan, the United States, and Republic of Korea, primarily focusing on...

Urbanization has affected the economy, ecosystem, and human health. In addition to these direct and physical impacts, urbanization is suggested to affect our preferences and valuation with respect to nature, including people’s perceived values of nature and human–nature connectedness (HNC). Perceived values of nature and HNC are essential for...

During the Sea of Solutions 2024 organized by COBSEA and UNEP, Hotta presented about the lessons learned on Plastic Leakages in Southeast Asia based on its involvement to ERIA RKC-MPD and JAIF project to support National Action Plan Development.