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Wed 16 November 10:30-12:15

Wed 16 November 10:30-12:15

11/16
WED

City

10:30-12:15

Title	Cities, Climate and SDGs: multi-level governance for achieving zero-carbon and sustainable future
Contents	This event will focus on the significance of cities in realizing a zero-carbon and sustainable society and the experiences of leading local governments that are already making efforts towards this transformative change. Successful implementation of the Paris Agreement, in particular the achievement of 2℃ (and 1.5℃) target, requires the realization of a zero-carbon society in the second half of this century. To this end, the need for proactive involvement by all stakeholders is firmly recognized. At the same time, it is widely agreed that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) laid out in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires an integrated approach to various issues including climate change. Recognizing that cities are one of the key players of implementing climate action and the SDGs and that collaboration among various levels of government and actors is necessary for these achievements, speakers of this event, representing local governments, national governments, and intermediary organizations, will discuss their roles and the way forward to accelerate such collaboration.
Organiser / Co-organiser	Ministry of the Environment, Japan / OECD / ICLEI
Programme	Opening Remarks Koichi Yamamoto, Minister of the Environment, Japan Session 1: Cities, climate and SDGs - Local actions for SDGs to achieve decarbonized and sustainable society - Moderator: Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability Keynote / Setting the scene Shuzo Murakami, Chair, Promotion Committee for the "FutureCity" Initiative, Japan Discussants Akiko Miura, Director, Emission Cap and Trade, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan Kimihiro Kuromizu, Executive Director, Climate Change Policy Headquarters, City of Yokohama, Japan Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, Vice Mayor for Environment and Transport, City of Oslo, Norway Yann Francoise, Head of Climate and Energy Strategies, Parks and Environment Directorate, Urban Ecology Agency, City of Paris, France Ryuzo Sugimoto, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Office, International Strategy Division, Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan Session 2: Multi-level governance - Accelerating national and sub-national collaboration to achieve common goals - Moderator: Rintaro Tamaki, Deputy Secretary General, OECD Key note / Setting the scene Karolina Skog, Minister for the Environment, Sweden Discussants Akiko Miura, Director, Emission Cap and Trade, Bureau of Environment, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Japan Kimihiro Kuromizu, Executive Director, Climate Change Policy Headquarters, City of Yokohama, Japan Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, Vice Mayor for Environment and Transport, City of Oslo, Norway Yann Francoise, Head of Climate and Energy Strategies, Parks and Environment Directorate, Urban Ecology Agency, City of Paris, France Ryuzo Sugimoto, Deputy Director, International Cooperation Office, International Strategy Division, Global Environment Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, Japan Closing Remarks Gino Van Begin, Secretary General, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability
Session Summary	Mr. Koichi Yamamoto, Japanese Minister of the Environment, opened the session and wished for an open discussion regarding the significance of cities in climate action and achieving the SDGs (Session 1) and the importance of collaboration between national and local governments. The first session, moderated by ICLEI Secretary General Mr. Gino Van Begin, kicked off with a keynote speech by Mr. Shuzo Murakami, the Chair of the Promotion Committee for the "FutureCity" Initiative, where he emphasized the significance of localizing SDGs and presented the concept of integrating SDGs into the Japanese FutureCity Initiative. Following the keynote, 4 Japanese and European cities (Tokyo, Yokohama, Oslo, and Paris) that are leading the way in realizing a zero-carbon and sustainable society shared their views on the purpose and relevance of integrating climate action and efforts towards achieving the SDGs, and presented on specific measures that they are taking. Finally, the Ministry of the Environment, Japan highlighted the international cooperation efforts that are being undertaken at the national level related to the SDGs. The second session was moderated by Mr. Rintaro Tamaki, Deputy Secretary General of OECD. In her keynote speech, Ms. Karolina Skog, Sweden’s Minister for the Environment, pointed out that in realizing a sustainable society, national governments play a role in presenting a clear vision to steer investment in right direction and in activating and supporting right action at the regional and local levels. In the following panel discussion, the 4 cities commented on their relationship and collaboration with their respective national governments. Based on the common understanding that vertical collaboration between local and national governments is imperative in addressing climate change and that cities are responsible for a significant portion of global greenhouse gas emissions, panelists recognized that cities need to take swift action against climate change. Panelists also expressed their hopes and expectations for the development of enabling environments and frameworks to help cities do better. At the same time, they recognized the importance of national governments in making sure that their policies and programs do not hinder or discourage local climate action. In closing, Mr. Tamaki commented that OECD hopes to contribute to the advancement of local action by showcasing successful mechanisms that enable partnerships and collaboration between various levels of government. In his closing remarks, ICLEI’s Mr. Van Begin mentioned the importance of increasing local governments’ autonomy in addressing climate change and achieving SDGs as well as creating conditions that enable investment in a decentralized, renewable energy supply. Mr. Van Begin also reiterated that ICLEI hopes to continue working with local as well as national governments in making these a reality.
Key Messages	SDGs are an effective index for cities to check and review their efforts from a sustainability perspective. At the same time, because SDGs are abstract, it is critical that these goals are localized in a diverse set of city-level projects and specific actions. For this reason, there is a strong need to develop a mechanism that allows for sharing of good practices and ways to scale up those efforts globally. Vertical collaboration between local and national governments is imperative in addressing climate change. National governments play a role in supporting and encouraging cities that are leading the way and in developing enabling environments that help cities fulfill its potential. At the same time, it is also crucial that they make sure that national policies and programs do not hinder or discourage cities at the forefront of fighting climate change.
Materials	Presentation 1 (PDF・591KB) Presentation 2 (PDF・345KB) Presentation 3 (PDF・1,182KB) Presentation 4 (PDF・1,529KB) Presentation 5 (PDF・270KB) Presentation 6 (PDF・1,048KB)
Photos
Reporters	Takashi Otsuka, ICLEI Japan