On 8 October, Togo Uchida, Executive Director of ICLEI Japan, participated in the 4th International Forum on Low Carbon Cities, a United Nations conference held in Kitakyushu City. The Forum was held for the first time in Japan in recognition of Kitakyushu City‘s decarbonization efforts.

Executive Director Uchida moderated Session 1, which discussed co-beneficial and synergistic policies and governance for strengthening urban resilience with other Asian cities, including Kitakyushu City, as well as research institutions.

The need for a clear vision and goals, plus communication, to generate synergies and co-benefits, as well as the importance of good research and study in advance, were mentioned. There were also comments that trade-offs could be avoided, for example, by understanding the negative impacts and seeking technical solutions, or by implementing the policy in phases to allow time for socio-economic adaptation, which could also be avoided by conducting proper research and data collection beforehand. There were heated discussions throughout the meeting.