Japan backs SEforALL collaboration with three major events
Japanese Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub (EECJ) organised International SEforALL Forum in Tokyo
6 November 2015 - Sustainable Energy for All is deepening its collaboration with Japan, which hosts the SEforALL Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub in the Energy Conservation Centre Japan (ECCJ). Three major SEforALL outreach events were held in the country in late October -- one hosted in Tokyo by the Hub and Japanese government, and two by Toyama city – focusing on energy efficiency and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 7 on energy (SDG7).
Cities and the involvement of the private sector are key to the implementation of SDG7, and Japan draws on vast expertise from municipal initiatives and private sector engagement in the implementation of energy efficiency policies.
SDG7 is an enabler for many other Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG11 on sustainable cities and communities.
SEforALL Forum on Energy Efficiency in Cities in Tokyo
On 29-30 October the ECCJ, the SEforALL EE Facilitation Hub, together with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), organised an international Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Tokyo, inviting policy experts and energy practitioners focused on energy efficiency and city planning, contributing solutions and best case studies on how to improve energy efficiency in urban areas.
Many cities from around the world were represented: Astana (Kazakhstan), Bangkok (Thailand), Copenhagen (Denmark), Curitiba (Brazil), Jakarta (Indonesia), Johannesburg (South Africa), Kitakyushu (Japan), Kashiwa City (Japan), Mexico City (Mexico), Nairobi (Kenya), Toyama (Japan), Toyota City (Japan) and Yokohama (Japan), sharing their experience with energy efficiency policies and projects and engaging with the objectives of SEforALL.
The city representatives consider SEforALL a very useful and important framework for creating a network of cities to share knowledge, learn from each other’s experiences, and support faster diffusion of innovative technologies and financing models.
Pointing out the devastating impact of catastrophic climate events that could wipe out the gains of decades of development, SEforALL Chief Operating Officer Mohinder Gulati said: “Exciting examples presented at the Forum have shown how excellent outcomes can be achieved when citizens, policy makers, and other stakeholders are mobilized into joint actions. The challenge would be to convert these islands of excellence into continents of energy and behaviour transformation”.
The Forum focused on three themes: 1) energy savings in buildings, especially evaluation standards; 2) urban transportation systems; and 3) district energy systems focusing on area energy management systems, including demand response and energy efficiency of cities and their industrial areas.
Minoru Takada, SEforALL Director in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary General, highlighted the importance of the historic year 2015, with the adoption of the SDGs and upcoming COP 21 in Paris, and the necessity of adhering to the “three Ss” of SEforALL: acting speedily, smartly and scaling activities with the help of partners for the implementation of SDG7.
Ivan Jaques, Senior Energy Specialist from the World Bank, and Jyoti Prasad Painuly, Director of the Copenhagen Energy Efficiency Hub, contributed to the discussions with their specific views on financial and technical action implementation in energy efficiency.
Indonesia announced that it stands ready to host the next SEforALL Forum on cities in Bali (Indonesia) in 2016.
www.se4allateccj.org
SEforALL Forum in Toyama
On 28 October, Toyama City hosted the first national SEforALL Forum in Japan, dedicated to SEforALL and its objectives and SDG7, and inviting numerous participants from governments, municipal authorities, businesses, academia and civic initiatives.
The Forum was opened by Mayor Masashi Mori of Toyama City and Ambassador Masahiko Horie of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
“For energy efficient cities, we need to design integrated solutions; engage policy makers, businesses, citizens, institutions, and other stakeholders in designing and implementing solutions; and facilitate actions and provide innovative financing at the sub-sovereign and local levels,” SEforALL Chief Operating Officer Mohinder Gulati said in his opening remarks. “With rapid urbanization, cities would determine whether or not we would be able to achieve the energy efficiency objectives of sustainable development goals.”
The Forum provided an opportunity to raise awareness about the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and its objectives on energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy in the global and Japanese context. It also strengthened the ongoing active collaboration between Japan and the SEforALL partnership on all levels: Ambassador Horie is a member of SEforALL’s high-level Advisory Board, and the Energy Conservation Centre (ECCJ) in Tokyo is serving as an Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub for SEforALL, offering technical expertise in assessing energy management systems.
Toyama was one of the first cities to join the SEforALL Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, which was launched at the UN Climate Change Summit in 2014. Mayor Mori of Toyama City announced that his city was chosen to host the G7 Environment - Prime Minister Session in 2016 and that he is looking forward to ever closer collaboration with SEforALL.
Future Cities Initiative Toyama
Toyama City authorities also hosted the 5th International Forum of the “Future City” Initiative on 27 October, featuring SEforALL for the first time.
Together with 11 partner cities, the initiative addresses the common challenges of cities in the developed world, including increasing energy demand, the need for low carbon societies and sustainable green growth, the need for restoration and reconstruction of infrastructure, the challenges connected to an aging population and the need for sustainable city planning.
The Forum presented case studies of local governments like Iskandar region (Malaysia), Portland (US), Pittsburgh (US), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Toyama, Yokohama and Kitakyushu in Japan. The Iskandar region and Toyama are part of the SEforALL Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, and many other cities are interested in joining the Platform.
Minoru Takada, SEforALL Director in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General in New York, highlighted the importance of cities in the context of the SDGs and particularly emphasised sustainable development goal number 11 on strong, safe and sustainable cities.
Throughout the Future Cities Forum Toyama city presented itself as an impressive show-case of a sustainable city, particularly in the area of public transport and urban planning. The high-speed Shinkansen train network links to the local LRT transportation system, and the city increasingly draws on renewable energy by covering its energy demand with small-scale hydropower plants. Toyama`s strategies could be emulated by municipalities in Japan and globally.
It was agreed that the next Future Cities Forum will be held in Portland (US) in February 2016, ideally also with the involvement of SEforALL.
www.city.toyama.toyama.jp/
SEforALL Forum on Energy Efficiency in Cities in Tokyo
On 29-30 October the ECCJ, the SEforALL EE Facilitation Hub, together with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), organised an international Sustainable Energy for All Forum in Tokyo, inviting policy experts and energy practitioners focused on energy efficiency and city planning, contributing solutions and best case studies on how to improve energy efficiency in urban areas.
Many cities from around the world were represented: Astana (Kazakhstan), Bangkok (Thailand), Copenhagen (Denmark), Curitiba (Brazil), Jakarta (Indonesia), Johannesburg (South Africa), Kitakyushu (Japan), Kashiwa City (Japan), Mexico City (Mexico), Nairobi (Kenya), Toyama (Japan), Toyota City (Japan) and Yokohama (Japan), sharing their experience with energy efficiency policies and projects and engaging with the objectives of SEforALL.
The city representatives consider SEforALL a very useful and important framework for creating a network of cities to share knowledge, learn from each other’s experiences, and support faster diffusion of innovative technologies and financing models.
Pointing out the devastating impact of catastrophic climate events that could wipe out the gains of decades of development, SEforALL Chief Operating Officer Mohinder Gulati said: “Exciting examples presented at the Forum have shown how excellent outcomes can be achieved when citizens, policy makers, and other stakeholders are mobilized into joint actions. The challenge would be to convert these islands of excellence into continents of energy and behaviour transformation”.
The Forum focused on three themes: 1) energy savings in buildings, especially evaluation standards; 2) urban transportation systems; and 3) district energy systems focusing on area energy management systems, including demand response and energy efficiency of cities and their industrial areas.
Minoru Takada, SEforALL Director in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary General, highlighted the importance of the historic year 2015, with the adoption of the SDGs and upcoming COP 21 in Paris, and the necessity of adhering to the “three Ss” of SEforALL: acting speedily, smartly and scaling activities with the help of partners for the implementation of SDG7.
Ivan Jaques, Senior Energy Specialist from the World Bank, and Jyoti Prasad Painuly, Director of the Copenhagen Energy Efficiency Hub, contributed to the discussions with their specific views on financial and technical action implementation in energy efficiency.
Indonesia announced that it stands ready to host the next SEforALL Forum on cities in Bali (Indonesia) in 2016.
www.se4allateccj.org
SEforALL Forum in Toyama
On 28 October, Toyama City hosted the first national SEforALL Forum in Japan, dedicated to SEforALL and its objectives and SDG7, and inviting numerous participants from governments, municipal authorities, businesses, academia and civic initiatives.
The Forum was opened by Mayor Masashi Mori of Toyama City and Ambassador Masahiko Horie of the Japanese Foreign Ministry.
“For energy efficient cities, we need to design integrated solutions; engage policy makers, businesses, citizens, institutions, and other stakeholders in designing and implementing solutions; and facilitate actions and provide innovative financing at the sub-sovereign and local levels,” SEforALL Chief Operating Officer Mohinder Gulati said in his opening remarks. “With rapid urbanization, cities would determine whether or not we would be able to achieve the energy efficiency objectives of sustainable development goals.”
The Forum provided an opportunity to raise awareness about the Sustainable Energy for All initiative and its objectives on energy access, energy efficiency and renewable energy in the global and Japanese context. It also strengthened the ongoing active collaboration between Japan and the SEforALL partnership on all levels: Ambassador Horie is a member of SEforALL’s high-level Advisory Board, and the Energy Conservation Centre (ECCJ) in Tokyo is serving as an Energy Efficiency Facilitation Hub for SEforALL, offering technical expertise in assessing energy management systems.
Toyama was one of the first cities to join the SEforALL Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, which was launched at the UN Climate Change Summit in 2014. Mayor Mori of Toyama City announced that his city was chosen to host the G7 Environment - Prime Minister Session in 2016 and that he is looking forward to ever closer collaboration with SEforALL.
Future Cities Initiative Toyama
Toyama City authorities also hosted the 5th International Forum of the “Future City” Initiative on 27 October, featuring SEforALL for the first time.
Together with 11 partner cities, the initiative addresses the common challenges of cities in the developed world, including increasing energy demand, the need for low carbon societies and sustainable green growth, the need for restoration and reconstruction of infrastructure, the challenges connected to an aging population and the need for sustainable city planning.
The Forum presented case studies of local governments like Iskandar region (Malaysia), Portland (US), Pittsburgh (US), Hanoi (Vietnam), and Toyama, Yokohama and Kitakyushu in Japan. The Iskandar region and Toyama are part of the SEforALL Global Energy Efficiency Accelerator Platform, and many other cities are interested in joining the Platform.
Minoru Takada, SEforALL Director in the Executive Office of the UN Secretary-General in New York, highlighted the importance of cities in the context of the SDGs and particularly emphasised sustainable development goal number 11 on strong, safe and sustainable cities.
Throughout the Future Cities Forum Toyama city presented itself as an impressive show-case of a sustainable city, particularly in the area of public transport and urban planning. The high-speed Shinkansen train network links to the local LRT transportation system, and the city increasingly draws on renewable energy by covering its energy demand with small-scale hydropower plants. Toyama`s strategies could be emulated by municipalities in Japan and globally.
It was agreed that the next Future Cities Forum will be held in Portland (US) in February 2016, ideally also with the involvement of SEforALL.
www.city.toyama.toyama.jp/
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