COP28 (28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 13, 2023, with the session extended by one day.
This COP was the first time since the start of the implementation of the Paris Agreement that the outcome of the Global Stocktake, a mechanism for evaluating progress of the Paris Agreement, were concluded as an agreed document.
The “phase-out of all fossil fuels,” which could not be agreed upon last year, was again a major point of contention in the negotiations, resulting in agreement for the first time on a reference to all fossil fuels in the form of “transitioning away from fossil fuels”.
In 2025, each country will submit its next NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution), which will include a 2035 reduction target. From now on, each country must take the message presented by the agreed document of the Global Stocktake and ensure that they are put into practice. To support this momentum, the actions of a very large number and variety of non-state and subnational actors showed their significant presence during COP28.
Many members of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI) also attended COP28 in Dubai to hold events, speak at events, and engage in dialogue with domestic and international stakeholders to communicate the efforts of non-state actors in Japan and to absorb the latest global trends in climate action.
Contents
Please click the following links to move to each section in the page.
■Saturday, 2nd December
“The case for policy incentives: closing the implementation gap on net zero emissions” organized by Race To Zero and We Don’t Have Time
■Tuesday, 5th December
“Act Together for 1.5℃ : How a Whole-of-Japan Can Realize a Sustainable and Decarbonized Society” organized by Japan Climate Initiative
■Tuesday, 5th December: Events organized by Alliances for Climate Action (ACA)
■Wednesday, 6th December
“Lifting up G-B Partnership to a Next Level” organized by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
■Saturday, 9th December: “Climate Policy Engagement – How can corporations be leading climate advocates?” organized by Race To Zero
2. Dialogues with stakeholders
■Sunday, 3rd Decemeber: Race To Zero、InfluenceMap
■Monday, 4th December: CDP, SBTi
■Friday, 8th December: Race To Zero roundtable
■Sunday, 10th December: Shintaro Ito, Minister of the Environment
■Daisaku Kadokawa, Mayor of Kyoto City joined a video co-created by Race To Zero and We Don’t Have Time.
■The Race To Zero Annual Progress Report introduced JCI’s activities including policy advocacy.
■JCI’s Carbon Pricing Proposal published on 5th December was included in the COP28 page of the UNFCCC Global Climate Action Platform (NAZCA).
■Saturday, 2nd December
“The case for policy incentives: closing the implementation gap on net zero emissions” organized by Race To Zero and We Don’t Have Time
In this session, leaders from around the world discussed why non-state actor advocacy for policy incentives is so important, and why governments need to close the implementation gap on zero emissions through stronger policy incentives. Shuichi Abe, Governor of Nagano Prefecture, a JCI member, joined as a panelist and shared Nagano’s efforts.
◇Date & Time: 3:00–3:30pm (8:00-8:30pm JST), Saturday, December 2, 2023
◇Place: COP28 Climate Hub
◇Language: English
◇Speakers:
Shuichi Abe, Governor, Nagano Prefecture
Tom Tayler, Head of Climate Finance, Aviva Investors
Catherine McKenna, CEO, Climate and Nature Solutions
Martin Ochieng, Group Managing Director, Sasini Plc
■Tuesday, 5th December
“Act Together for 1.5℃ : How a Whole-of-Japan Can Realize a Sustainable and Decarbonized Society” organized by Japan Climate Initiative
As indicated by the IPCC Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report, a 65% reduction in global CO2 emissions by 2035 is needed to limit the global average temperature increase to 1.5C. To realize this goal, all actors must work together to strengthen and accelerate their efforts.
At this event, diverse members of the Japan Climate Initiative (JCI), a coalition of Japanese non-state actors including corporations, a finance sector, a local government and NGO/NPOs shared their own efforts to realize the 1.5C goal, especially the interim targets towards 2030 and 2035. From the perspectives of their respective sectors, they discussed how Japanese society as a whole should work together and what climate policies we need to contribute to the realization of a sustainable decarbonized society.
◇Date & Time: 1:00–2:15pm (6:00-7:15pm JST), Tuesday, December 5, 2023
◇Place: COP28 Japan Pavilion in Blue Zone
◇Language: English
◇Program as of 4 December (Please note that the contents are subject to change.)
1. Opening Remarks
Sergio Shigeo Kato, Co-Representative of Japan Climate Initiative
2. Messages from the JCI Leaders Circle
3. Panel session
Looking Ahead To 2035: The Importance of Interim Targets & Urgent Action
Speakers:
Ichiro Aoyagi, SVP, Head of Solution Service Strategic Unit, Global Business Solution Business Group, Fujitsu Limited
Toshiko Chiba, Climate Change Specialist and Director, Climate Change Division, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government
Hiroshi Ozeki, President and Chief Executive Officer, Nissay Asset Management Corporation
Karen Pflug, Chief Sustainable Officer, Ingka Group IKEA
Kae Takase, Senior Coordinator, Renewable Energy Institute
Nathan Cooper, Department Director, Policy and Engagement, Race To Zero
Moderator:
Ken Tanaka, Climate & Energy Group officer, WWF Japan
4. Closing Remarks
Sergio Shigeo Kato, Co-Representative of Japan Climate Initiative
■Tuesday, 5th December: Events organized by Alliances for Climate Action (ACA)
The Alliances for Climate Action (ACA), an international network of non-state and subnational actor alliances from 10 countries including JCI, hosted three sessions. In the session focused on the role of local in decarbonization efforts, five speakers including representatives from local governments have joined the session. Toshiko Chiba, Climate Change Specialist and Director, Climate Change Division, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, a JCI member, also joined as a panelist and shared Tokyo’s efforts.
◇Date/Time/Program: See the image below
◇Place: COP28 WWF/ACA Pavilion in Blue Zone
◇Language: English
■Harnessing Multi-Level Action: Reflections on the Local Climate Action Summit
Time：5:15-6:00pm in Dubai (10:15-11:00pm JST)
Panelists: Toshiko Chiba, Climate Change Specialist and Director, Climate Change Division, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government and more.
■Road to 2030: Role of Subnational Governments and Non-State Actors in Delivering Strengthened NDCs
Time: 2:30-3:45pm in Dubai (7:30-8:45 JST)
Panelists: Gonzalo Muñoz, COP25 High Level Champion, Manuel Pulgar Vidal, WWF Climate & Energy Practice Leader and more
Recorded Video
■UAE Alliance for Climate Action: One Year of Impact
Time: 4:00-5:00pm in Dubai (9:00-10:00 JST)
Panelists: Razan Al Mubarak, UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for the UAE, COP28 and more.
Recorded Video
■Wednesday, 6th December
“Lifting up G-B Partnership to a Next Level” organized by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
In this session, panelists discussed how governments and businesses should cooperate to achieve a green transition toward net-zero emissions. Sergio Shigeo Kato, Co-Representative of JCI joined the session and shared experiences of JCI’ activities and ambitious climate actions of non-state actors in Japan.
◇Date/Time/Program: See the image below
◇Place: COP28 Viet Nam Pavilion in Blue Zone
◇Language: English
■Saturday, 9th December: “Climate Policy Engagement – How can corporations be leading climate advocates?” organized by Race To Zero
In this event, businesses, financial institutions and NGOs loke We Mean Business Coalition discussed how policy incentives can ensure businesses and financial institutions go faster to cut emissions, what regulatory trends and policy wins lie ahead, to ensure we win the Race to Zero, and what is the role of trade associations in advocating for policies consistent with a 1.5C future. Takejiro Sueyoshi, Co-Representative of JCI joined the event as a panelist to share JCI’s policy advocacy activities.
◇Date & Time: 12.00-1.00pm in Dubai (5:00-6:00), Friday, 9th December
◇Place: Business Pavilion, Blue Zone
◇Language: English
◇Program:
MC：Tessa Vincent, Policy Engagement Lead, Race to Zero
1. Keynote: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator for Rhode Island
2. Panel discussion 1: How can corporates lead on climate policy engagement? Climate NGOs supporting climate policy engagement? What action do we need?
Andrew Prag, Managing Director Policy, We Mean Business Coalition (moderator)
Helen Walter Terrinoni, Director Global Policy, Trane
Takejiro Sueyoshi, Co-Representative, Japan Climate Initiative
Timothée Mace Dubois, Head of Institutional Affairs, Schneider Electric
3. Panel discussion 2: How corporate climate leaders manage their industry associations around policy engagement. How can this be scaled up? What is the role of currently lightly
engaged industry groups and/or new corporate climate focused advocacy groups?
Dylan Tanner, CEO and Founder InfluenceMap (moderator)
Munoz Rodriguez Miguel, Head of Climate Policies and Alliances,
Iberdrola
Heather Buchanan, Co-Founder and CEO, Bankers for Net Zero Net
zero alliance: Bankers for Net Zero
Fiona Duggan, Global Sustainability Senior Manager – Advocacy,
Unilever
Ioana Petcu, Advisor Climate Change Euroelectric
2. Dialogues with stakeholders
■Sunday, 3rd Decemeber: Race To Zero、InfluenceMap
Corporate JCI members exchanged views on the current state of advocacy and lobbying by private sectors and its difficulties in Japan with the policy engagement team of the UN campaign “Race To Zero,” and Dylan Turner, Executive Director, InfluenceMap, a non-profit think tank.
■Monday, 4th December: CDP, SBTi
Corporate JCI members exchanged views with Nicolette Bartlett, Chief Impact Officer, CDP, and Tracy Wyman, Head of Outreach Engagement , Science Based Targets initiative. Both shared the latest global trends and information in each organization, while JCI members shared their efforts and difficulties in Japan. They had a lively exchange of opinions.
■Friday, 8th December: Race To Zero roundtable
A roundtable hosted by the UN campaign “Race To Zero,” was held to bring together companies and NGOs to discuss how companies can promote positive change to governments and trading associations. Takejiro Sueyoshi, Co-representative of JCI joined and shared JCI’s advocacy efforts and trends in Japan.
■Sunday, 10th December: Shintaro Ito, Minister of the Environment
JCI members from businesses, a financial institution, a youth organization, a NPO, and other organizations, as well as Takejiro Sueyoshi, Co-Representative of JCI, had a dialogue with Shintaro Ito, Minister of the Environment. The participating members conveyed to the Minister their respective efforts and expectations for the government.
■Daisaku Kadokawa, Mayor of Kyoto City joined a video co-created by Race To Zero and We Don’t Have Time.
Video
■The Race To Zero Annual Progress Report covered JCI’s activities including policy advocacy.
Article: Race To Zero released its 2023 Progress Report
The Annual Progress Report
■JCI’s Carbon Pricing Proposal published on 5th December was included in the COP28 page of the UNFCCC Global Climate Action Platform (NAZCA).
NAZCA COP28 page
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