Press Release

February 10, 2023
  • Global Environment

"Zero Carbon City International Forum 2023" will be held on March 1

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, and the Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the United States of America, will co-organize the "Zero Carbon City International Forum 2023" on March 1, to accelerate subnational climate actions globally by sharing leading practices across borders.

This year, the forum intends to discuss measures to promote cooperation between national and subnational governments, given the upcoming “G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo” to be held on April 15 and 16, 2023. The forum also aims to expand and widely disseminate integrated urban initiatives through sharing advanced practices on net-zero transition, resilience and multiple benefits.
[Date]     March 1, 2023
  • Part 1: 9:30-12:00 (JST)
  • Part 2: 15:00-17:30 (JST)
  • Part 3: 18:00-20:30 (JST)
[Language]
    English and Japanese
    (English-Japanese simultaneous interpretation will be provided)
 
[Format]
    Part 1: Hybrid (on-site and online)
    Part 2 & 3: Online
 
[Venue]
    Tokyo Garden Terrace, Kioi Conference (Part 1 only)
 
[Organizers] 
    Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan
    Office of Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, the United States of America

[Co-organizers]  
    ICLEI - Local Governments for Sustainability
    Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

[Tentative programme]
    The latest programme and speakers will be updated and posted on the official website.

Part 1

●Opening Remarks 
    - NISHIMURA Akihiro, Minister of the Environment, Japan
    - Ms. Nina HACHIGIAN, Special Representative for Subnational Diplomacy Office of Global Partnerships, the USA
 
●Keynote Speeches: Subnational climate actions, a key for the net zero agenda
    - Mr. Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) (Video Message) 
    - Mr. Yunus Arikanx, Head of Global Policy and Advocacy, ICLEI World Secretariat

●High-level session 1: Urban transformation and the role of national government
    - ONO Hiroshi, Vice Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
    - Representative of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
    - Mr. HISAMOTO Kizo, Mayor of Kobe City, Japan (Chair, Japan Designated Cities Mayors' Association )

●High-level session 2: Cities' commitments to net zero 
    - Mr. AKIMOTO Katsuhiro, Mayor of Sapporo City, Japan (Online)
    - Mr. SUMIYABAZAR Dolgorsuren, Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
    - Mr. Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener, Canada
 
●Panel discussion

Part 2

High-Level Seminar on Sustainable Cities (HLS-SC).
  • Opening Remarks
  • Keynote speeches: City-to-city collaboration, as a way to enhance urban sustainability 
  • Session 1: Synergies with the circular economy
  • Session 2: Synergies with a nature-positive economy
  • Summary Session

Part 3

  • Keynote speeches: Key takeaway from the Summary for Urban Policymakers (SUP) report
  • Session 1-1: Synergies of decarbonization and resilience
  • Session 1-2: Synergies of decarbonization and digital technology
  • Session 2: Strengthening multi-level cooperation
  • Summary Session

 

[Viewing and media coverage]

Pre-registration is required to view Part 1 of the forum at the venue. If you wish to register, please do so by February 22, 2023, via the official website above.
 
All the sessions of the meeting will be live streamed. Those wishing to observe the meeting online are requested to participate via the official website (no pre-registration required).
 
Members of the media are requested to register for coverage. Please pre-register by February 22, 2023, by sending an email to the following addresses. In the subject line, please write "Zero Carbon City International Forum." In addition, please include your organization, name and contact details in the body of the email. If you would like to take photographs, please let us know in the email.

Enquiries to:

Office of Director for International Cooperation for Transition to Decarbonization and Sustainable Infrastructure, Global Environmental Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
    WATANABE Satoshi: SATOSHI_WATANABE@env.go.jp
    KAMIMURA Ayu: AYU_KAMIMURA@env.go.jp