Message YAMAGUCHI Shunichi Chairman, GEA

Countries throughout the world have been experiencing frequent, severe damage from abnormal weather events. In those countries and regions that are affected by forest fires resulting from heatwaves, by drought, by floods resulting from torrential rains, by landslides, or by the risk of inundation due to rising sea levels, not only is the scale of natural disasters increasing year by year, the impact on disaster-affected areas is so severe that one can hardly bear to view it. All of this is due to dependence on fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal and natural gas as energy sources to support the flourishing economic activity of humanity as a whole. The burning of these fossil fuels leads to immense emissions of carbon gases which, as greenhouse gases, have brought about global warming and climate change.

The Japanese government has announced to the world its determination to build a carbon-neutral society, with net zero greenhouse gas emissions, by 2050.

We thus have an obligation to fulfil the undertaking that we have made to the international community. Fortunately, as can be seen from the coming into effect of the Paris Agreement, in today’s world it is commonly accepted that, without progress in terms of international agreements, it will not be possible to resolve the issues affecting the global environment, which constitutes the foundation for the survival of humanity. At the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), in which representatives of 196 countries and regions took part, the developed economies such as the US, Japan and the EU, asked the emerging and developing economies (particularly countries such as China and India which have achieved particularly impressive economic development) to further increase their emissions reduction targets. In response, the developed economies were asked to provide funding support for environmental initiatives. Island countries that are concerned about the risk of inundation (such as the Maldives and Barbados) asked not only the developed economies but also the emerging economies and developing economies to take appropriate measures speedily and to ensure that their response to climate change does not come too late. In any case, it was apparent from COP26 that there was a clear awareness that the problem of global warming could not be solved without international collaboration in which every country in the world works together to implement decarbonization. It goes without saying that safeguarding the global environment, which is the foundation for the survival of humanity, is an issue that must be prioritized above all others. GEA has been working seriously for over 31 years to address the problems affecting the global environment, as a cross-party organization that brings together influential lawmakers of all affiliations and others from the worlds of business, academia and government who share the same vision.

GEA has been highly praised as an organization that is working to influence global public opinion in a positive direction, particularly through the holding of the GEA International Conference once every two years, and in 1999 GEA received the Global 500 Roll of Honour award from UNEP. Going forward, we will continue to strengthen our efforts to contribute toward solving global environmental problems, and your cooperation and support is deeply appreciated.