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Development is a priority matter for all developing countries. To address climate change effectively, it is vital to align climate and development policies in developing countries. Discussion includes Japan's new initiative "Cool Earth Partnership" to support developing countries in efforts to address climate change, driven by recently held G8 Kobe Environmental Ministers Meeting and the planned G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit to be held in July 2008.

• Mr.Taka Hiraishi, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)

• Ms.Akiko Nakagawa, Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ)
• Ms.Yuka Murakami, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
• Ms.Aree Wattana Tummakird, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Thailand
• Mr.Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC)

• 15 minutes
  Chair’s Guidance on “Aligning Climate and Development”
  Co-benefits and Integrated adaptation – From Concept to a Realistic Operation: Japan’s New Initiative to Support Developing Countries
  • by Mr.Taka Hiraishi, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES)
• 20 minutes
  Japan’s Initiative on Cooperation in Climate Change and Development: Outcomes from G8 Kobe Environmental Ministers Meeting
  • by Ms.Akiko Nakagawa, Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ)
  • by Mr.Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC)
• 20 minutes
  Financial Assistance Scheme for developing countries
  • by Ms.Yuka Murakami, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)
• 20 minutes
  Comments and perspectives from developing country – Experiences on Climate and Development activities in Thailand
  • by Ms.Aree Wattana Tummakird Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Thailand
• 30 minutes
  Question & Answer Session and Discussion
• 15 minutes
  “Important Note by Organizers”
  How can we get tangible fruits for Climate and Development? Co-benefits, Integrated Adaptation, and other key efforts
  • by Mr.Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC)

• Chair’s Guidance on “Aligning Climate and Development”
  Co-benefits and Integrated Adaptation – From Concept to a Realistic Operation: Japan’s New Initiative to Support Developing Countries
  by Mr.Taka Hiraishi, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) Presentation(PDF)
  Supporting to generate “co-benefits”, integrated efforts to address both climate change and development, is expected to produce synergy effect and therefore set in the pivot of Japan’s assistance policy. Japan has ever undertaken the policy survey as well as policy dialogues since 2006 with many developing country partners and stakeholders for identification of co-benefits projects towards GHG reduction and local environmental improvement, which is to come on the top agenda of climate change at the Toyako Hokkaido Summit to be held in July 2008. It is expected that the new financial mechanism driven by “Cool Earth Partnership” and outputs from the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting contribute to strengthening the Japan’s assistance plan in aligning climate and development by achieving co-benefits and integrated adaptation. "Asia-Pacific Gateway to Climate and Development”, a platform to promote the co-benefits approach and integrated adaptation, pools various useful information and knowledge on activities related to good practices, and can contribute to development of the efforts based on regional context.
• “Japan’s Initiative on Cooperation in Climate Change and Development: Outcomes from G8 Kobe Environmental Ministers Meeting”
  by Ms.Akiko Nakagawa, Ministry of the Environment, Japan (MOEJ)
  by Mr.Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC) Presentation(PDF)
  The “Cool Earth partnership” consists of combination of long-, mid- and short-term Japan’s new strategy that proposes to help the world efforts to cut the GHG emissions half by 2050, by financing both mitigation and adaptation as well as improving access to clean energy with approximately US$ 10 billion during 2008-2012 through Japan’s grant aid and Official Development Assistant (ODA) Loan. Remarkably, the G8 Environment Ministers Meeting has recognised the need for cooperation with developing countries by promoting technology innovation and transfer, mainstreaming adaptation and capacity building where Japan can support by offering its policy and advanced technology.　The MOEJ is going to expand efforts to address climate change and achieve co-benefits in developing countries through active discussions to assist formulation of co-benefits projects that will be eligible for Japan’s ODA Loan to address climate change.
• “Financial Assistance Scheme for developing countries”
  by Ms.Yuka Murakami, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Presentation(PDF)
  The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) is in process of strengthening overseas financial cooperation in support of measures for mitigation and adaptation to climate change. JBIC will merge with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in October 2008, and will organically integrate its three assistance schemes (Yen loans, technical assistance and grant aid) creating a system that further clarifies areas of priority for support in fight against climate change. In particular, based on the premise of enhancing ownership by developing countries, we will use the “Cool Earth Partnership” to provide stable financial cooperation that will contribute to the achievement of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and sustainable development. At the same time, we will also actively support co-benefit projects that contribute both to development and to measures against climate change. We will do so by forming policy support loans that will contribute to more effective SD-PAM (sustainable development policies and measures) based on local development policy (e.g. the transportation system improvement project in Delhi, India, or the coastal area management project in Bali, Indonesia), while drawing on the lessons learnt in the process of these.
• Comments and perspectives from developing country
  – Experiences on Climate and Development activities in Thailand
  by Ms. Aree Wattana Tummakird, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Thailand
  South East Asian countries, including Thailand is highly vulnerable to negative impacts of climate change, and urgent actions are required. However, fundamentals to enable such actions are not enough at this time. For example, it is vital to collect scientific data in order to take appropriate adaptation measures, but most countries in the region are lagging behind in this aspect. In terms finance, although it is expected to mobilize large scale recourses, enough amount is not yet secured. Also, to effectively utilize such resources, it is necessary to build capacity of governments and stakeholders at the same time. In this connection, great expectation has been shown by many countries about opportunities offered by the AP Gateway to Climate and Development, including utilization of the Earth Simulator, funding from the Cool Earth Partnership, and new capacity building activities to be launched by the Government of Japan.
• “Important Note by Organizers”
  How can we get tangible fruits for Climate and Development?: Co-benefits, Integrated Adaptation, and other key efforts
  by Mr.Makoto Kato, Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center, Japan (OECC) Presentation(PDF)
  Overseas Environmental Cooperation Center (OECC) has promoted the support for generating co-benefits in developing countries towards ensuring positive outcomes in fight against climate change and development assistance in cooperation with the Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) and the Japan’s donor agencies. Supporting capacity building towards achieving co-benefits and integrated adaptation has recently attracted higher attention. Japan also put a strong emphasis on adaptation activities based on sound scientific knowledge, which would enable developing countries to conduct development planning and governance in an appropriate manner. Considering such growing needs, the MOEJ, UNESCAP and OECC established the “AP Gateway” which contributes to identification of areas for more intensive actions by providing necessary date, manuals for quantified co-benefits evaluation methods manuals, and a technology map. Furthermore, OECC has started support to carbon offsetting through the “Japan Carbon Offset Forum (J-COF)”, which has been rapidly gaining greater interests by private sector in expanding the carbon market in Japan.