The report of A NAGASAKI Planetary Health Expert Meeting “From COP27 and COP15 to the G7 Hiroshima Summit: New Partnerships for Solving Climate, Environment, Biodiversity and Health Issues” has now been published. The meeting was held on Friday, May 12, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan, jointly hosted by Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI) and Nagasaki University.

Domestic and international experts from government, academia, and private industry were invited to share the discussions that took place at the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNCBD). Through these discussion, the aim of this meeting was to promote awareness and understanding of the connection between the Earth’s environment, including climate change, and human health and to foster an environment for discussion in preparation for the G7 Nagasaki Ministerial Conference on Health, and for the Hiroshima Summit of the Group of Seven (G7) which was held in the following weeks.

A new “UHC Political Declaration” was adopted at the High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on September 21, 2023, which also addressed planetary health issues. The 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UNFCCC will be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 30 to December 12, 2023. COP28 will be hosting the first-ever “Health Day” on December 3, when environment and health ministers from around the world will discuss the health impacts of climate change.

Based on the report of this meeting, we hope that efforts will be further deepened by domestic and international stakeholders.

Furthermore, you can watch the discussion on the day in a recording from here.

[Event Overview]

Date & Time: Friday, May 12, 2023; 15:00-18:00 JST

Venue: Bunkyo Sky Hall, Nagasaki University (1-14 Bunkyo-cho, Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture)

Jointly hosted by: Health and Global Policy Institute (HGPI), Nagasaki University

Supported by: The University of Tokyo, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), Japan Medical Association (JMA), Ministry of Environment (MoE), Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nagasaki City

Sponsored by: Wellcome Trust, AstraZeneca K.K., Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

 

[Program] (titles omitted; in no particular order)

15:00-15:05 Opening remarks

• Kiyoshi Kurokawa (Chairman, HGPI)

15:05-15:25 Keynote lecture 1: Forming new partnerships at every level to overcome climate and health challenges

• Alan Dangour (Director of Climate and Health, Wellcome Trust)

15:25-15:30 Video message 1: Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Activities

• Pam Cheng (Executive Vice President of Global Operations and IT, Chief Sustainability Officer at AstraZeneca)

15:30-16:25 Panel discussion 1: How the international community should address climate change to solve the urgent health challenges of today

Panelists:

• Alan Dangour (Director of Climate and Health, Wellcome Trust)
• Masahiro Hashizume (Professor of International Health Policy, School of International Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo)
• Keisuke Nansai (Director, Global Resource Sustainability Research Section, National Institute for Environmental Studies)
• Maria Neira (Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, World Health Organization)
• Juliette White CBE (Vice President Global SHE and Sustainability, AstraZeneca)

Moderator: Joji Sugawara (Vice President, HGPI)

16:30-16:50 Keynote lecture 2: Cross-Disciplinary Efforts to Contribute to Planetary Health

• Shigeru Kohno (President, Nagasaki University)

16:50-16:55 Video message 2: Initiatives in the Field of Biodiversity and Environmental Pollution

• Kazuhiko Takeuchi (President, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES))

16:55-17:55 Panel discussion 2: Planetary Health: Comprehensive Perspectives on Measures Japanese Society Should Take

Panelists:

• Tony Capon (Professor, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Monash University)
• Makoto Haraguchi (Fellow, MS&AD InterRisk Research & Consulting, Inc.; TNFD dedicated SVP, MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings, Inc.)
• Fumiko Kasuga (Global Hub Director, Japan Hub, Future Earth)
• Hiroya Yamano (Director, Biodiversity Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies)
• Moeko Yoshitomi (Deputy Director, Office of Global Health Cooperation, International Affairs Division, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; Assistant Director, Water Supply Division, Pharmaceutical Safety and Environmental Health Bureau; International Affairs Team, Novel Coronavirus Response Headquarters)

Moderator: Chiho Watanabe (Dean, Interfaculty Initiative in Planetary Health; Professor, School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University)

17:55-18:00 Closing remarks

• Margaret Tongue (Minister-Counsellor for Economic Affairs, the British Embassy in Tokyo)
• Kozo Akino (Member of the House of Councillors; State Minister of Finance)