With the support of our Japanese partner foundation, the Renewable Energy Institute, the Foundations Platform F20 hosted the 3rd annual F20 High-Level Forum and welcomed more than 500 participants in Tokyo on June 13th. Under the title “Heading towards a New Climate and Sustainable Economy – Shifting the Trillions for a Just Transition”, the F20 platform examined possible pathways of a global transition towards a low carbon economy in the frameworks of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement.
With this public event F20 provided a platform to illuminate and discuss the most pressing questions for the upcoming G20 summit in Osaka at the end of June, including pathways for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement to enable global climate action, renewable energy uptake and the building of resilient societies.
In addition, the new F20 report to the G20 on “Aligning G20 Infrastructure Investment with Climate Goals and the 2030 Agenda” was presented by the lead author Amar Bhattacharya, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development Program at Brookings Institution, Co-Chair, T20. The F20 report develops a framework for sustainable infrastructure that is aligned with the SDGs and Paris commitments. Five key policies bridging the sustainable infrastructure gap were outlined, calling upon the G20 heads of state to play a leading role in their implementation.
Keynotes and panels addressed the transition towards a new climate economy, the need for regulatory frameworks and the important role of foundations and other stakeholder groups in the G20 process. The speakers expressed their expectation that all decisions by the G20 heads of state must be based on the premises of a sustainable development and a just transition to achieve net zero emission by 2050 and limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 °C.
Speakers included Ernesto Zedillo, former President of Mexico; Amory B. Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute; Tasneem Essop, Interim Executive Director, Climate Action Network International; Hiroshi Komiyama, Chairman, Mitsubishi Research Institute; Teruyuki Ohno, Executive Director, Renewable Energy Institute; Fiona Reynolds, CEO, Principles for Responsible Investors; MA Jun, Chief Economist, Chairman, China Green Finance Committee.