Planetary boundaries:Governing emerging risks and opportunities

The climate, ecosystems and species, ozone layer, acidity of the oceans, the flow of energy and elements through nature, landscape change, freshwater systems, aerosols, and toxins—these constitute the planetary boundaries within which humanity must find a safe way to live and prosper. These are thresholds that, if we cross them, we run the risk of rapid, non-linear, and irreversible changes to the environment, with severe consequences for human wellbeing. The concept of planetary boundaries, though recent, has already gained traction in scientific and in some policy circles, and is generating debate more broadly. Nevertheless, despite decades of talk on sustainable development, reform of international governance and institutions has not kept pace with the scale and urgency of the global environmental crisis. The notion of planetary boundaries can be seen as a way to frame governance reform. This discussion introduces key elements of governance in a world with boundaries: deep reform of international governance, such as the United Nations system and trade treaties; emerging ecological concepts and principles in international law; the role of economics for the biosphere; and, the need to integrate different kinds of knowledge—from the local to the global. The literature is rich with ideas for solutions and real-world experiences. One recent example from south-eastern Australia demonstrates innovative approaches to knowledge sharing and communication between scientists, urban planners, and local communities for sustainable development in a changing climate. Finally, there is need for a mobilizing narrative: a story grounded in the concept of planetary boundaries, uniting the solutions, and framed in such a way as to offer opportunities for learning, innovation, and creativity at all levels, in both the North and South. There are no simple solutions to what are complex problems involving politics and trade-offs. Ongoing debate and discussion—in academia, in policy circles, and in society at large—is healthy, but we should not allow debate about the precise nature of planetary boundaries to stymie progress. Exploring these issues and the interface between different fields is a challenging task, to be sure. Still, it is essential if the concept of planetary boundaries is to fulfill its potential as a guide for human action in the Anthropocene

Policy Making and Implementation of Environmental Regulations of Automobiles in the European Union : Focusing on the Forms and the Transformation of Technical Standards, the Management of Standards Setting Process and the Accountability Mechanism

1980年代までは,欧州における自動車関連環境規制のための技術的基準(自動車排出基準,燃料品質基準)は緩やかなものであったが,1990年代以降,急激に強化されていった.その際,燃料品質基準策定の基礎となったオート・オイル・プログラムや,温暖化対応のための自主協定という新たな方式が活用された.オート・オイル・プログラムは,石油業界と自動車業界の参加の下,適切な政策手段の組み合わせを費用対効果の観点から抽出するという目的を持つとともに,両業界の負担分担の調整を担っていた.また,欧州委員会と各自動車工業会との自主協定は,長期的な業界平均での目標値を設定するものであった.このような政策プロセスにおいては,自動車業界や石油業界といったステークホルダーの役割が明示的に重要になりつつある.しかし,政策プロセスの民主化の要請からは,どのようなステークホルダーをどのような段階で参加させるのか,欧州議会の役割をどのように位置づけるのかが課題となる.Technical standards related to the environmental regulations of automobiles have been strengthened especially after 1990 in the EU. New mechanisms such as Auto-Oil Program and voluntary agreements were invented for the last decade. Auto-Oil Program was the mechanism for calculating best mixes of technical standards involving the auto industry and the oil industry and coordinating burdens among them. Voluntary agreement among European Commission and respective automobile associations such as ACEA is the flexible mechanisms for setting long term target of average CO_2 emission for each association. In the policy process above, involvement of stakeholders such as auto industry and oil industry is important, but it is also necessary to pay attentions to the choice of stakeholders, process design and the role of European Parliament

Energy Efficiency Road Mapping in Three Future Scenarios for Lao PDR

Climate change, pollution, and energy insecurity are among the greatest problems of our time. These problems are no longer issues in particular countries but international issues. Several framework conventions on these issues are now in place throughout the world, and developing countries are no exception. Energy efficiency is one of the important issues for developing countries. Lao PDR is one such country. This paper proposes a technology roadmap and policy recommendations for Lao PDR with consideration given to a wide range of economic and social impacts of prospective technologies. For the implementation of technology assessment in the formulation of an energy efficiency roadmap, we first elaborate the social and economic conditions of Lao PDR through preliminary research and field research, and then design three scenarios for a future Lao PDR. These three scenarios are as follows: 1. The "Poverty Reduction” scenario is for electrification rate improvement; 2. The “Industrial Creation” scenario is for stable domestic energy supply; and 3. The “GMS Integration” scenario is for the acquisition of foreign exchange by energy export

Specifics of Space Cooperation Potential Between Japan and India (IAC-16-E3.1.9)

Space activities in the Asia Pacific region have been increasingly developing and diversifying. Many nations have sought to acquire indigenous space capabilities for a wide variety of reasons. Active commercial and security space activities can also be seen in this region. Asian nations also dream to explore the unknown in outer space by promoting space science and exploration. International space cooperation has also been considered as a key element in developing space activities in this region. In this context, the University of Tokyo (UoT) and National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) have conducted a joint research on regional space policy and programs, especially focusing on policy analysis on space policies in Japan and India as a first step. A recent study by UoT and NIAS has explored lot of commonalities and uniqueness in space policies of the two nations. These commonalities and uniqueness in space policies offer potential opportunities for future space collaboration between the two. As leading spacefaring nations, Japan and India have been playing a key role in developing space activities in the Asia Pacific region. By cooperating together, Japan and India will be able to identify and advance regional common interests in space activities in the region. In particular, recent space policies in Japan and India have placed emphasis on space applications for societal needs such as communication, remote sensing, positioning, and so on. Japan-Indian cooperation in this area will contribute to social development in the Asia Pacific region by complementing and supplementing regional space capabilities. On the other hand, Japan and India have also had substantial experiences in space science and exploration. In this regard, Japan-India joint space mission will also be a potential item for future cooperation and will be a great boost to space science and exploration activities at a regional and global level. A third pillar of collaboration is for industry-to-industry tie-ups and development of commons in space industry in the two nations. Space industrial capabilities in both nations can jointly be involved to develop and offer unique space services in applications of earth observation, satellite communications, disaster management, and security, and undertake joint manufacturing activities. Based on the analysis of the commonalities and uniqueness in space program of Japan and India, this paper examines and explores in detail potential ”mission" opportunities for space cooperation between the two nations. Hopefully, these identifications will help Japan-India space cooperation in the future

Policy Analysis: Space Programmes of Japan And India

Today, increasing number of counties in the Asia Pacific region is using outer space with various purposes. Many countries are also aspiring to acquire indigenous capability for space activities. Moreover, increasing private/commercial activities are seen in this region, which is creating competition in the market for technology, applications and services. Security needs are also major drivers of space activity in many countries. Under the umbrella of Space Policy and LawNetwork in Asia Pacific (SPLANAP), University of Tokyo (Japan) and National Institute of Advanced Studies (India) have taken up a joint study to research and prepare a report on space policies of the Asia Pacific region, especially including Japan, India and many other space faring nations in this region. As the first step of this joint project, the team has undertaken a comparative analysis of space policies in Japan and India. Japan and India are leading space faring countries in this region. In Japan, promoting advanced technology inn ovation and scientific research has been the major policy objective. In addition, space utilization, as well as industrialization of spaceare also primary drivers for the space policy objectives since the enactment of Basic Space Law in 2008. In this rega rd, Japan has faced policy challenges regarding how to promote space utilization and industrialization and how to coordinate policies and goals of various stakeholders. There is a compelling need for a new thinking for space strategy based on the recent changes in Japan’s space policy. On the other hand, India has long history in “space for national development” and has actively used space systems like communication satellite and remote sensing satellite to meet various social needs, which include disaster monitoring, natural resources management, tele-education, tele-medicine, national communication, navigation services and so on. India has also developed some mechanism for policy coordinating between space agency and user organization. In recent years, India has also actively pursued space exploration program, including ambition for human space flight. In a recent study by NIAS, a clear need for a comprehensive national space policy in India has been established. In this context, this paper presents the results of the comparison of space policies and governances in Japan and India and examine commonalities/differences, characteristic, relative strengths/challenges. This comparative analysis contributes to clearly identifying policy challenges faced by the both nations and getting clue to resolving those challenge

Assessment of Space Programs and Policies for Regional Cooperation in the Asia Pacific Region

International space cooperation in the Asia Pacific region have entered a new stage. Today a lot of nations in this region have actively developed space capabilities, and have come to use them for a variety of purposes. In addition to the long-experienced spacefaring nations such as Japan, India, and China, many emerging nations like Malaysia, Philippine, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, etc., have made active efforts to develop space technology and applications and to undertake their space programs. Such space applications as earth observation, satellite communication, and positioning emerged in this region have tremendous potentials as a driving force for peaceful development and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region in many facets: disaster management, climate change study, national and regional security, environment management, agriculture, urban planning, geospatial program, land management, as well as the advancement of science and technology. Against this backdrop, many nations also seek to establish national space policy with an aim to set out the vision and goals of nation’s space programs. The University of Tokyo and National Institute of Advanced Studies have created a research network, Space Policy and Law Network in Asia Pacific (SPLANAP), among researchers and experts in the Asia Pacific region and started a research project to examine space policy and program directions in the region. In particular, as the first step of this research project, a comparative analysis of space programs and policy perspectives in Japan and India has been taken up to examine commonalities and uniqueness in space policies of both nations and to identify potential opportunities for the future cooperation between the two nations. Based on the previous work in this research project, this study aims to move to the next phase of the research and to extend the scope of the analysis by including several other nations, such as Malaysia, Philippine, and Singapore. While updating information on the recent developments in space programs and policy in Japan and India, as well as adding new analyses from the perspectives of the above mentioned three nations, this study will examine common interests and potential opportunities for regional space cooperation from a wider point of view

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target