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Keynote Speech from "Rollout Symposium of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)"

The Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF) co-hosted the "Rollout Symposium of the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC)" with the Ministry of the Environment on October 15, 2019, in Tokyo. In the symposium, Dr. Hans-Otto Pörtner (Co-Chair, Working Group II, IPCC / Professor, Head of the Department of Integrative Ecophysiology at the Alfred Wegener Institute) and several Japanese and Asian authors of SROCC gave presentations on the latest scientific findings indicated in the report.

[Event Report] Report on the Oceans Action Day event at UNFCCC-COP25

The 25th UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC-COP25) was held at IFEMA in Madrid, Spain from December 2nd to December 15th 2019 at Feria de Madrid (IFEMA) Exhibition Center (including a two-day extension from the 13th). With the Government of Chile, President of the Conference, designating this year's conference as the Blue COP in recognition of the attention given to the oceans and the cryosphere, there were more than 100 ocean themed events held during the conference and the issue of "Oceans and Climate Change" also drew the spotlight in State level negotiations. As a result, in the COP25 Decision, Chile Madrid Time for Action, COP25's main output document (https://unfccc.int/resource/cop25/1cop25_auv.pdf), along with making the first reference in a COP Decision to the importance of the oceans as an element of the planet's climate system, also decided to establish a dialogue for Oceans and Climate Change at next June's SBSTA42. The Sasakawa Peace Foundation / Ocean Policy Research Institute (SPF/OPRI) hosted the two-day Oceans Action Day event on December 6th and 7th. It was the largest among the many ocean related events held at the Blue COP.

Interview with Takakazu Ito, Senior Program Officer at the Department for Operational Support at UN Headquarters

As conflicts around the world grow increasingly complex, the UN has undertaken a series of restructuring and organizational reforms to strengthen its peacekeeping functions. At the same time, as the countries that dispatch troops for UN peacekeeping operations shifts from industrialized nations to developing nations, there is increasing interest in the performance of UN peacekeepers.

Highlights Video: International Symposium Commemorating the 25th Anniversary of Japan-Palau Diplomatic Relations

H.E. Tommy Remengesau Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, recently visited SPF to speak about Palau’s progressive ocean policies, the work of the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, and plans for the 7th Our Ocean Conference to be hosted by Palau in August 2020.

Interview with Dr. Atsushi Watanabe, Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute, Sasakawa Peace Foundation on the blue economy

“The blue economy is attracting attention around the world, but it’s still not very well known in Japan,” says Dr. Atsushi Watanabe, Senior Research Fellow at the Ocean Policy Research Institute. We spoke to Dr. Watanabe about the blue economy, which some say is essential for humankind's survival on earth, and the challenges it faces.