Climate Institute News
Institute Board Members Take Part in UN Day Symposium in Japan
A United Nations Day Climate Change Symposium October 24, 1997
at Tokyo’s United Nations University witnessed presentations
by three Climate Institute members and the winner of the Institute’s
1996 Public Policy Award. The Symposium was sponsored by Amway
Japan.
Chaired by Institute Board member Dr. Noel Brown, President,
Friends of the United Nations, this meeting focused on issues
prominent in the Kyoto negotiations. The Symposium keynoter was
Philippine Senator Heherson Alvarez, who drew on his country’s
experience in energy efficiency applications, geothermal and other
renewables, to illustrate the practical measures needed for green
energy development.
Institute Vice President Ata Qureshi, who served as Team Leader
of an eight-country Asian climate change study, summarized studies
of climate change implications for Asia. The Institute’s
President, John Topping, urged that Japan, as the host of COP3,
champion a green energy investment strategy. Also participating
in this symposium was Hon. Kazuo Aichi, Environment Secretary
of Japan at the time of the 1992 Rio Conference. Well received
by an audience which included a number of Japanese parliamentarians
and civic leaders, these discussions ultimately culminated in
the Kyoto Basket, drafted three days later in England using texts
from the major UN University speeches.
Board Members Win Prizes In Japan
Two of the Institute’s Board members from Japan were awarded
prizes by the Nihon Keizai Newspaper Inc, the leading economic
newspaper in the country. The 7th Nikkei Global Environmental
Technology Awards were given last October.
Dr. Nobuo Mimura won the Grand Prix of the Award as team leader
of the 14-member Intergovernmental Study Team for Climate Change
and Sea-Level Rise. Members came from Japan, China, South Pacific
Regional Environmental Programme, Fiji and New Zealand. They studied
vulnerability and response strategies to climate change and sea-level
rise for the past seven years in Asia and the Pacific. Dr. Mimura
is a professor at the Center for Water Environment Studies, Ibaraki
University. He is a member of the Institute’s Advisory Board.
Dr. Shuzo Nishioka, a Member of the Institute’s Board of
Directors, won an award for his contribution to linking the academic
community and policymakers. He is the author of a paper, “Studies
on the process of and activities to enhance integration of scientific
knowledge and environment policy.” Director of the Global
Environment Division of the National Institute for Environmental
Studies, he has served as vice chairman of the Effects Section
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He is a member
of the Board of Directors of the Institute.
