Message from the President
The 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30) is being held in Belém, Brazil. As the COP30 Presidency, Brazil has put forward a comprehensive approach that moves climate action beyond the scope of environmental policy alone, linking it with development, poverty reduction and social inclusion, and has strongly called on the international community to shift “from commitments to implementation.” Discussions are advancing toward strengthening mitigation efforts, developing indicators to track progress in adaptation, and operationalizing the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance (NCQG), among other key areas, with the aim of achieving concrete and effective outcomes. At the same time, uncertainties remain surrounding the direction of international negotiations, including the absence of a delegation from the United States, which requires continued close attention to the evolving situation.
During this period, significant progress has been also made in the field of international environmental cooperation.
At the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) held in August, the Assembly of the African Clean Cities Platform (ACCP) announced the launch of the “Fund for Project Development Facilitation for Better Waste Management in Africa” by the Ministry of the Environment, drawing considerable attention from a wide range of stakeholders.
In September, the Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM) among Japan, China and Korea was convened in Yantai, China, reaffirming the commitment to further strengthening trilateral cooperation. In parallel, the Japan-China High-Level Roundtable Dialogue on the Environment was held, featuring active discussions on the role of cities in advancing environmental policies in both countries. I delivered a keynote statement and participated in the subsequent discussion, contributing to meaningful exchanges on the future potential for enhanced bilateral cooperation between Japan and China.
Furthermore, at the Malaysia-Japan Environment Week held in Kuala Lumpur in October, university students from Fukushima Prefecture participated as “Fukushima Carbon Neutral Ambassadors.” Representing the younger generation, they urged the international community to take action in addressing environmental challenges and shared a broad range of future initiatives with many local participants.
Through these international initiatives, OECC will continue to fulfill its role as a core organization in the field of international environmental development cooperation and will further strengthen its efforts towards the realization of a sustainable society.
