On 29 July 2025, the International Forum for Sustainable Asia and the Pacific (ISAP), an event organized by the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), was held.

The following is a look-back at the two sessions in which ICLEI Japan participated.

1️⃣Networking sessions organized by ICLEI Japan and IGES

As part of the ISAP program, ICLEI Japan hosted a networking session with IGES. This is an expanded version of ICLEI Café, which ICLEI Japan regularly organizes to interact with its member local governments.
Local governments, companies, academic institutions, and youth are participating in the ISAP conference.

The networking session invited researchers and local government officials to present on the following topics.
Topic ①　Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) on Plastic Pollution
Topic ②　Post-SDGs
Topic ③　Kitakyushu City participates in Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogues

Topic 1), Dr. Chika Aoki-Suzuki, Principal Policy Researcher, IGES, gave a clear explanation of the history of negotiations to date and the draft articles for the passage of an international legally binding plastics convention. Dr. Aoki’s latest briefing note on the Plastics Convention, “Towards a plastics treaty enabling gradual intensification”, is now available. Click here for more information.

Topic 2), Mr. Shinji Onoda, Deputy Director of Integrated Sustainability Centre/Senior Research Manager, IGES, gave an overview of the SDGs, the international targets to be achieved by 2030, adopted by the UN in 2015, including the level of achievement to date, and also systematically explained the discussions on the setting of development goals for 2030 and beyond.
Mr. Shinji’s SDG-related publications and projects are listed on the IGES website.

Topic 3), The official who accompanied the Mayor of Kitakyushu City, Kazuhisa Takeuchi, on his overseas business trip, shared that Kitakyushu represented the city at the Daring Cities 2025 Bonn Dialogue, and at the roundtable meeting organized by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). He also introduced cases of Kitakyushu City‘s collaborations with citizens, businesses, neighbouring local governments, and overseas cities in solving urban problems, which attracted attention in international fora.

2️⃣Plenary 5: Leveraging Co-Benefits for Healthy Net-Zero Transitions in Japanese and Other G7 Cities

The implementation of climate change measures not only reduces greenhouse gas emissions but also air pollutants, often with positive consequences for people’s health. The “Leveraging Co-Benefits for Healthy Net-Zero Transitions in Japanese and Other G7 Cities Session” focused on these climate policy and health co-benefits, with speakers including local governments participating in international projects led by IGES with the support of the Wellcome Trust. ICLEI member city, Kawasaki City, presented its experience of participating in the project, and Togo Uchida, Executive Director of ICLEI Japan, also took the stage. The importance of using the co-benefits perspective in communicating with citizens and “visualizing” the effects of measures was discussed.