Thammasat University students interested in political science, ecology, environmental studies, public policy, and related subjects may find it useful to participate in a free 17 September Zoom webinar on Energy security and global warming in an increasingly uncertain international climate.
The event, on Tuesday, 17 September 2024 at 11am Bangkok time, is presented by the Graduate School of Public Policy, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
The TU Library collection includes several books about different aspects of global warming.
Students are invited to register at this link.
The event announcement states:
Objective
Increasing geopolitical risks in the Middle East and the situation in Russia and Ukraine have increased uncertainty in the international energy situation.
As a result, energy security has re-emerged as the most important issue in the energy policies of countries that have largely focused on global warming prevention since the Paris Agreement.
On the other hand, the gap between the picture of a possible energy transition, calculated backward from the 1.5°C stabilisation and 2050 carbon neutrality targets, and reality is widening.
An ambitious energy transition could lead to higher energy costs and make political, economic and social sustainability more difficult. In addition, the impact of the European Parliamentary elections, the US presidential election and other elections on the international environment regarding energy and global warming is also uncertain. In the context of the major trend towards decarbonisation, countries are pursuing ‘diverse pathways’ in a way that minimises the costs associated with the energy transition in accordance with their national circumstances, and discussions have started in Japan on the formulation of the Seventh Basic Energy Plan.
This symposium aims to provide an overview of the international situation regarding energy security and decarbonisation, with a focus on the 1.5°C target, and to provide suggestions for the direction of Japan’s ideal energy strategy.
Program
Opening Daiji Kawaguchi, Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP), The University of Tokyo
- Greetings by the guest of honour Kimihisa Kittaka, Special Counselor, INPEX Corporation / Senior Managing Director, INPEX Solutions Inc.
Session 1: Uncertainty in the global energy security situation Keynote report & moderator
- Ken Koyama, Executive Director, Institute of Energy Economics, Japan / Visiting Professor, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
- Panelists
- Jason Bordoff, Founding Director, Centre on Global Energy Policy, Professor, School of International and Public Affairs, Co-Founding Dean Emeritus Columbia Climate School
- Peter Wood, Chief Energy Advisor, Shell
- Hirofumi Matsuo, Commentator and Senior editorial writer, The Nikkei
Session 2: Feasibility of the 1.5°C target
- Keynote report & moderator
- Jun Arima, Project Professor, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
Panelists
- Indrajit Bose, Senior Researcher (climate change), Third World Network
- Roger Pielke Jr, Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
- Kazuhiko Hombu, Visiting Fellow, GraSPP, The University of Tokyo
Wrap-up: Japan’s Aimed Energy Strategy Direction under Uncertainty
Talk session by Visiting Professor Koyama and Project Professor Arima
- Master of Ceremonies: Kumiko Tonoki, URA (UTokyo Research Administrator)
According to its website, the Graduate School of Public Policy (GraSPP)
was established in 2004 as a professional graduate school. GraSPP aims to train students so that they are able to discover issues confronting modern society, to plan public policy and systems to cope with such issues from a global perspective, and to transform students into experts ready to serve as public officials who are capable of communicating and consensus building.
Current Japanese society is changing rapidly and making us face issues we have never experienced such as the transformation of industrial structure, the declining birth rate and aging population, the progress of globalization and global environmental issues. In such a time, what is needed is the high-level ability to understand the true nature of confronting issues appropriately and to develop policy with new ideas. Therefore, talented individuals are required with advanced expertise in planning, implementing and evaluating policy, and who have competency in public service both in Japan and abroad. Traditionally, civil servants mainly deal with public policy, and the required ability is assumed to be acquired through practical experience after securing a position in an administrative organization. However, the civil servant system is currently under reorganization and the practice of lifetime employment has been drastically changed. Also as observed in the activities of NGOs that relate to global environmental issues, society’s expectations for people with expertise involved in public policy are expanding to include not only public services in the national and local governments, but also in many fields of the public sector on a global basis.
In order to train policy practitioners to meet current and future demand, GraSPP provides students with broad knowledge across the fields of law, politics, economics and international relations. A high-level education that is interdisciplinary and well-balanced in theory and practice is given to build the fundamental ability for policy planning, implementation and evaluation so that students can acquire the skills required in practice. At the same time, various novel ideas and schemes are incorporated into the curriculum that makes GraSPP different from traditional graduate school education. Examples are practical learning including lessons by practitioners and lectures and case studies based on actual domestic and international cases.
One of the distinctive features of GraSPP is its active engagement in international exchange. More than half of the GraSPP student body comes from overseas with diverse backgrounds. All courses offered in English – about half of the whole curriculum – are also open to Japanese students. At GraSPP, Japanese and international students who are the future world leaders can meet and build a life-long network, not only within GraSPP but also in the world’s leading public policy schools. […]
In April 2016, GraSPP launched a Doctoral program in public policy. The knowledge and skills needed for the planning, evaluation and implementation of policy are becoming increasingly sophisticated and complex. Moreover, in-depth study at the doctorate level is often times essential for building professional careers in negotiation at international agencies.
The aim of the Doctoral program is to foster highly-principled professionals who possess advanced abilities in interdisciplinary research skills and are capable of planning and evaluating solutions that employ their full range of expertise.
Our program is designed to train top-class professionals to possess not only advanced specialist research skills in their particular fields (either Economics or Law and Politics) but also interdisciplinary skills and practical skills with international application.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)