Results of the Seminar Held at COP28 on the "Initiative to Promote the Introduction of Early Warning Systems" and the Progress of This Initiative

 At the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) last year, the Japanese government announced the “Assistance Package by the Government of Japan for Averting, Minimizing and Addressing Loss and Damage” (APLD)*¹ and the "Initiative to Promote the Introduction of Early Warning Systems in the Asia-Pacific Region through Public-Private Partnerships," a new initiative of the Ministry of the Environment as part of the package.
 To accelerate this initiative in June 2023, we launched The Consultation Meeting of the Public Private Partnership for the Development of Early Warning Systems in the Asia Pacific Region (The Consultation Meeting of EWS) and have been working with Japanese companies to study the issue.
　*1: https://www.env.go.jp/en/press/press_00780.html

 The following seminar was held at the Japan Pavilion at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), to introduce excellent EWS products and services of companies participating in The Consultation Meeting of EWS and to report on the initiatives of the Initiative. The seminar was attended by government officials from the Kingdom of Thailand and Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and discussions were held on the future development of the Initiative.
 
<Date and Time>
December 10, 2023, 10:30 - 11:45 (UTC+4)
 
<Seminar Title>
Promoting Early Warning Systems for Minimizing and Addressing Loss & Damage:

• How to accelerate EWS in Asia Pacific countries? -

 
<Seminar Content>
 The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, reported on the establishment The Consultation Meeting of the Public Private Partnership for the Development of Early Warning Systems in the Asia Pacific Region in June 2023, which is an initiative of the Ministry of the Environment, and introduced the activities of The Consultation Meeting of EWS, including the status of understanding needs related to EWS and proposals for business models.

 Two Japanese companies that are members of The Consultation Meeting of EWS spoke at the conference. As examples of EWS, Weathernews Inc. presented its private-sector weather service in Thailand and other countries, as well as its collaboration with government agencies in other countries involved in climate change adaptation and EWS, which is being developed from Japan to Asia. Hitachi, Ltd. announced "FloodS," a web service for developing countries that provides high-speed simulations of flooding risks associated with climate change.
 
 Through a panel discussion with government officials and others from various countries, the panelists discussed the future promotion of early warning systems in the Asia-Pacific region.
 
<Speakers>
Ministry of the Environment, Japan
Weathernews, Inc.
Hitachi, Ltd.
Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) in Thailand
Vietnam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration (VNMHA) in Vietnam
 
<Moderator>
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
 
 
[Click here for details]
http://copjapan.env.go.jp/cop/cop28/en/exhibition/details/ministry-of-the-environment-13/

 Weathernews Inc. complements and strengthens the observation network in the relevant countries and areas by installing its own observation equipment, such as X-band radars, weather stations, and live cameras to realize high-resolution and high-accuracy weather forecasts and services on a global scale. We are contributing to improving the resilience of society by solving social issues in disaster prevention and expanding early warning systems. Specifically, in Thailand and Vietnam, we have started to strengthen observation networks in cooperation with local meteorological bureaus and government agencies, and have launched a private-sector weather service using our own short-time precipitation forecasts, mainly for factory and industrial park areas. We plan to expand the service to the Asia-Pacific region (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, etc.) in particular. We also plan to expand the service to Europe in parallel. In addition, we have begun research with a view to expanding the service to Nepal and Africa, which are target countries of Early Warning For All.

 FloodS, built by the Ministry of the Environment and Hitachi, Ltd., is a service that simulates at high speed the temporal changes in inundation conditions caused by river flooding, rainfall, and storm surges around the world, and displays the predicted results on a map in a web browser.

 Provided free of charge to government officials in Asia-Pacific countries and other countries vulnerable to climate change, the service enables users who are not experts in hydrology or river engineering to easily perform inundation simulations with intuitive operations. This service will help developing countries understand the risk of inundation due to climate change and develop adaptation measures to climate change, thereby promoting the overseas deployment of excellent products and services of companies participating in The Consultation Meeting of EWS.
 
https://top.floods.green/

List of companies participating in The Consultation Meeting of EWS (Japanese only)
https://www.ewsi.green/member