Politics of climate change and energy policy in Japan: Is green transformation likely?

While being proud of comparatively high levels of energy efficiency and having experienced the Fukushima nuclear disaster, it may be presumed that Japan would become a leader in the global energy transition. On the contrary, however, Japan has demonstrated a degree of intransigence around deep decarbonization. Why does Japan not take leadership in the energy transition and arrest climate change? What is the context for Japanese climate/energy policymaking? What is the context for the 2050 net-zero target, what are the obstacles, and which actors could assist effectively in accelerating this transition? This article considers new drivers for national policy as well as the influence of exogenous domestic and international forces. This leads to the question of whether the 2050 carbon neutrality policy goal could deliver a rapid shift away from fossil fuels. It presents an analytical framework to explain Japan’s evolving climate-energy nexus, illuminating core variables hampering and enabling the attainment of the net-zero 2050 target

How can cities achieve accelerated systemic decarbonization? Analysis of six frontrunner cities

Globally, many cities have pledged to reach net zero emissions by mid-century and formulated climate action plans (CAPs) to pursue this goal. Attainment of net zero requires accelerated systemic decarbonization measures to catalyze fundamental changes across multiple societal systems simultaneously. Yet the extant literature has not conceptually clarified conditions leading to accelerated systemic decarbonization in cities. This research therefore aims to: (1) conceptualize strategies that contribute to accelerated systemic decarbonization at the sub-national level and develop a framework for empirically identifying these; and (2) assess the extent to which CAPs in cities known for progressive climate policies embody these characteristics. This involved examination of evidence from CAPs and related documents in six cities: Copenhagen, Leeds, Oslo, San Francisco, Australian Capital Territory and Kyoto. Findings show that San Francisco's climate actions are the most indicative of accelerated systemic decarbonization. In other cities, although many ingredients for accelerated systemic decarbonization are in place, several missed opportunities to achieve more rapid and transformative decarbonization outcomes were identified. These include lack of consideration of scope 3 emissions and limited participatory governance measures as well as absence of economic planning, climate budgets and financial indicators to estimate the benefits or costs of various climate-mitigation actions.Barrett B.F.D., Trencher G.P., Truong N., et al. How can cities achieve accelerated systemic decarbonization? Analysis of six frontrunner cities. Sustainable Cities and Society 100, 105000 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.105000

Challenges in the adoption and use of OpenCourseWare: experience of the United Nations University

This paper provides insights on the adoption or use of OpenCourseWare (OCW) to support broader research, training and institutional capacity development goals, based on the experience of the United Nations University. Specifically, it explains the strategic context for the use of OCW in the university through its related efforts in the area of Virtual and Open Learning, and how OCW fits these requirements. Finally, the paper presents the current status, and discusses challenges and future directions of the OCW project at the United Nations University