International Workshop: Towards Low Carbon Cities: Understanding and Analyzing Urban Energy and Carbon
Venue: Noyori Conference Hall, Nagoya University
Address: Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
Language: English
Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University
Global Carbon Project (GCP)
National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES)
Ministry of Environment, Japan
Aichi Prefecture
Nagoya City
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies
Aims
- To strengthen and develop networks in the areas linking urban energy use, urban development and carbon management in the climate change mitigation context;
- To share research results and modeling and analyses challenges and approaches, and to discuss ways to overcoming them;
- To explore ideas for developing joint activities such as syntheses, harmonized cross-comparative studies, and policy analyses;
- To link scholarly endeavors to policy relevance and bridge research and policies.
Workshop Agenda
The program of both the Symposium and the Workshop are also available here in pdf format, in English or in Japanese.
For a list of the speakers and their affiliation please click here.
For a list of all the participants and their affiliation please click here.
- See the agenda for Day 1, February 17, 2009
- See the agenda for Day 2, February 18, 2009
Day 1, February 17, 2009
Moderator: Prof. Hidefumi Imura
9:00 | Registration | |
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9:30- 9:40 | Welcome Address from Host and Co-organizer | Prof. Yoshitsugu Hayashi Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University |
9:40- 9:50 | Welcome from Co-organizer Explanation of Aims and Objectives |
Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Global Carbon Project |
Session I: Urban System Modeling (Chair: Prof. Hidefumi Imura) | ||
09:50 – 10:05 | Modeling Urban Energy Systems with SynCity | Dr. James Keirstead Imperial College London |
10:05 – 10:20 | The Energy Revolution, Cities & Washing Lines: Cities and the International Energy Agency | Dr. Nigel Jollands International Energy Agency |
10:20 – 10.35 | Energy and Environmental Implications of Carbon Emission Reduction Targets: Case of Kathmandu Valley | Prof. Ram M. Shrestha Asian Institute of Technology. |
10:35 – 10:50 | Modeling 2050 Energy and CO2 Scenario for Bangkok | Mr. Aumnad Phdungsilp/Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Durakaji Pandit University/Global Carbon Project |
10:50 – 11:00 | Discussions | |
11:00 – 11:15 | Coffee Break | |
11:15 – 11:30 | Modeling of Geographically Explicit Land Use Scenarios | Dr. Yoshiki Yamagata National Institute for Environmental Studies |
11:30 – 11:45 | Urban Agglomeration Economies in Climate Policy: A CGE Modeling Analysis | Dr. Fabio Grazi Centre International de Recherche sur l’Environnment et le Developpment (CIRED) |
11:45 – 12:00 | Climate Change and Cities: Integrated Assessment of Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation | Dr. Richard Dawson Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research at New Castle University |
12:00 – 12:15 | Decarbonising Cities: From Models to Competing Pathways | Prof. Simon Guy Architecture Research Centre, The University of Manchester |
12:15 – 12:25 | Discussions | |
12:25 – 13:30 | Lunch |
Session II: Urbanization, Urban Form and Land Use in China (Chair: Prof. Toshiaki Ichinose) | ||
13:30 – 13:45 | Modeling for Urban Energy and CO2 for Beijing | Dr. Jiang Kejun Energy Research Institute, China |
13:45 – 14:00 | How Developing Countries Find Their Own Way to Urban Sustainability? - Thinking from the Building Energy Research in China | Prof. Yingxin Zhu Tsinghua University |
14:00 – 14:15 | Shanghai Urban Transport Policy, The Impact of Metro on Land Use as well and Travel | Prof. Haixiao Pan Tongji University Shanghai |
14:15 – 14:30 | City Forms, Land Use and Transportation in Chinese Cities | Prof. Chen Jin Beijing Normal University |
14:30 – 14:45 | Discussions | |
Coffee Break |
Session III: Presentations from Global Environment Research Fund (MOE-J) Project “Study on the Strategic Urban Planning and Assessment of Low-Carbon Cities” (Chair: Prof. Hidefumi Imura) | ||
15:00 – 15:10 | Objective and Research Framework | Prof. Hidefumi Imura Nagoya University |
15:10 – 16:00 | Planning and Assessment of Low-Carbon Cities | |
Urban Typology and Key Factors of Determining Low-Carbon Cities: Specificities and Universalities | Dr. Toshiaki Ichinose National Institute for Environmental Studies |
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Urban Growth, Buildings, Infrastructures and Energy: Development of Analysis Tools | Dr. Hiroki Tanikawa Wakayama University Dr. Akio Ohnishi Dr. Osamu Higashi Nagoya University |
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Assessing the Role of Technologies: Prospects of Development and Diffusion of Low-Carbon Technologies | Prof. Tsuneo Takeuchi Dr. Noriko Sugiyama Nagoya University |
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Towards Low Carbon Cities in Rapidly Urbanizing Asia: Climatic Change Mitigation Strategy in Building Sector | Ms. Yukiko Yoshida National Institute for Environmental Studies |
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16:00 – 16:40 | Key Elements for Realizing Low Carbon Cities | |
Energy Demand Data for Japanese Buildings | Dr. Yujiro Hirano Nagoya University |
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Challenges and Opportunities for New Building Energy System | Prof. Masaya Okumiya Nagoya University |
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The Role of Land Use and Transportation System | Dr. Hirokazu Kato Nagoya University |
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16:40 – 16:55 | Discussions | |
16:55– 17:00 | Summary and Closing for the Day | Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Global Carbon Project |
17:00 – 18:00 | Side-Event: Poster Session – Presentation of Relevant Research Activities by Participants – | |
18:00 – 20:00 | Reception (Venue: Restaurant Hananoki (in Nagoya University Campus) |
Day 2, February 18, 2009
09:30 – 09:40 | Opening | Prof. Hidefumi Imura Nagoya University |
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Session IV: Energy and Emissions: Accountings and Policy Implications (Chair: Dr. Hiroki Tanikawa) | ||
09:40 – 09:55 | Forming an Emissions Inventory, Energy Scenarios and Plans with Stakeholders: The Greenhouse Gas Regional Inventory Project - GRIP | Dr. Sebastian Carney Research Fellow School of Environment and Development (SED) University of Manchester |
09:55 – 10:10 | Measuring Low Carbon Cities | Dr. Julia Steinberger Institute for Social Ecology Vienna |
10:10 – 10:25 | Urban Energy Use and CO2 Emission from Cities of China | Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Global Carbon Project |
10:25 – 10:40 | Discussions | |
Coffee Break | ||
11:00 – 11:15 | Energy Use and Carbon Emissions from Global Cities | Prof. Christopher Kennedy University of Toronto |
11:15 – 11:30 | Urban Scale Energy Consumption Estimate for the European Union (EU27) | Dr. Niels Schulz Imperial College London |
11:30 - 11:45 | Extended Life Cycle Assessment of Transportation System and Energy | Dr. Naoki Shibahara Nagoya University |
11:45 – 12:00 | Discussions | |
12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch |
Session V: Cities and Climate Change Initiatives (Chair: Mr. Hideyuki Mori) | ||
13:30 – 13:40 | International Co-operation of Cities in Climate Change Policy | Mr. Hidenori Nakamura Policy Researcher, Policy & Governance Team, Programme Management Office, IGES |
13:40 – 13:50 | Cities and Climate Change Initiatives at OECD | Ms. Jan Corfee-Morlot Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development |
13:50 – 14:00 | Cities and Climate Change Initiatives at ADB | Mr. Sharad Saxena Asian Development Bank |
14:00 – 14:10 | Urban Climate Change Research Network and International Panel for Cities and Climate Change Assessment | Dr. Stephen A. Hammer Columbia University |
14:10 – 14:20 | Clean Air Initiative and Initiatives towards Climate Co-benefits | Dr. Alvin Mejia Clean Air Initiative-Asia Center |
14:20 – 14:50 | Discussions | |
Coffee Break |
15:10 – 17:00 |
Overall Discussions Moderated by Prof. Hidefumi Imura and Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Discussion items:
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17:00 – 17:10 | Summary and Closing | Prof. Hidefumi Imura Nagoya University Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal Global Carbon Project |
Organizers
Global Carbon Project Initiative on Urban and Regional Carbon Management, URCM
The Global Carbon Project (GCP) was established in 2001 in recognition of the enormous scientific challenge and fundamentally critical nature of the carbon cycle for Earth sustainability under the auspice of Earth System Science Partnership (ESSP) of four major international scientific programs on global environmental change research. The scientific goal of the project is to develop a complete picture of the global carbon cycle, including both its biophysical and human dimensions together with the interactions and feedbacks between them. The Global Carbon Project launched the Urban and Regional Carbon Management (URCM) Initiative in 2005 recognizing the importance of the area. URCM is a policy-relevant scientific initiative aimed at supporting urban carbon management and sustainable urban development.
URCM addresses some of the most fundamental scientific issues related to carbon management:
- How do urbanization and the global carbon cycle interact globally through population, affluence, energy and other biophysical and socioeconomic mechanisms?
- How can we quantify current and past carbon emissions/sinks in cities and regions? What are the future scenarios of de-carbonized urban and regional development?
- What configurations of underlying and proximate drivers (geography, socioeconomic factors, historical legacies/trajectories etc.) explain the differences in carbon trajectories of cities?
- What management strategies can influence carbon mitigation in cities?
- What are the trade-offs and synergies of streamlining carbon management in local areas?
- What are the roles of the institutions and carbon governance structures in sound urban and regional carbon management?
- What we do
- Scientific networking, development of forums
- Research agenda setting
- Coordination of national, regional and international research programs
- Research syntheses
- Science-policy interfacing


Contact
For more details on the URCM initiative see the Home page.
For further details on this URCM activity please contact Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal.
Nagoya University Initiative for Integrating Climate Change Mitigation in Urban Development
How we recognize the issues?
- Cities in both industrialized and developing countries are more and more responsible for promoting sustainable buildings, environmentally sustainable transportation, energy efficiency, etc.
- Integrating climate change mitigation measures in urban development is needed, especially in rapidly growing cities in China, India, and Southeast Asian countries.
- Universities and research institutions in Asia must cooperate more closely to provide opportunities for education and research activities, especially for students and young researchers.
We have launched an initiative:
- Nagoya University has launched an initiative to promote research and education programs related to climate change mitigation in cities, especially in rapidly developing Asian cities, in cooperation with universities, research institutions, industries, governments, NGOs, and citizens.
What we do:
- Build an international network (Consortium, or Platform of the Joint Research Initiatives) of universities, research institutions, international organizations, NGOs and others
- Explore a research and education program related to climate change mitigation and adaptation policies/measures in cities
- Exchange information
- Form an international research team
- Organize international meetings to share research and education processes and outcomes
How we contribute to cities? (our goals)
- Design and build “low-carbon” cities, halving GHG emissions by 2050
- Achieve drastic improvement in the energy efficiency of cities
- Seek for “macro-efficiency” (or “social system efficiency”) rather than “micro-efficiency”
- Propose a transition path to a “low-carbon” society, or “low-carbon city” through integrating environmental measures in urban development
- Incorporate technological and socio-economic options
- Establish a platform of research and education for young researchers, especially those who will lead initiatives in developing countries
- Conduct field studies on developing Asian cities
- Propose feasible measures enforceable in developing Asian cities

Contact
For more information on the Initiative for Integrating Climate Change Mitigation in Urban Development please contact Prof. Hidefumi Imura.
Center for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies Japan
National Institute for Environment Studies Japan (NIES) has chosen four priority programs on which to focus its resources over the term of its second Five-Year Research Plan: climate change, sustainable material cycles, environmental risk, and the Asian environment. Centre for Global Environmental Researcher (CGER) has been tasked with heading the priority program on climate change. CGER have added four new research sections to the Center in order to respond to this challenge. In addition, CGER’s previous activities in climate change research, such as monitoring and database creation, have now been made an integral unit of the priority program on climate change to allow a more strategic approach to their implementation.
Since its inauguration, GCER has been engaged in supporting and integrating global environmental research and monitoring the global environment. It has been keeping an eye on developments in domestic and international research on the global environment and contemplating the necessary framework to support such research. In addition to getting involved in relevant projects and responding to newly identified needs, we are also keeping our eyes set on the future in order to further expand our activities. In recent years, we have been strengthening our role as a headquarters for offices such as the Global Carbon Project International Office, the Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office, and the AsiaFlux Office. Furthermore, from this year, CGER is going to be acting as a hub of collaboration on earth observation in the field of climate change.


Contact
For more details on this organizer visit the Center for Global Environmental Research web-site or contact Dr. Yasuhiro Sasano.
Proceedings
Back-to-back Symposium
Contact
For substantive information, please contact Dr. Shobhakar Dhakal, Global Carbon Project.