According to the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C, the global average temperature in the 2010s had already risen by about 1°C above pre-industrial levels. Since then, we have seen a noticeable increase in weather disasters such as extreme heatwaves, wildfires, severe tropical cyclones like typhoons and hurricanes, and heavy rains and floods worldwide. While modern science has not yet been able to quantify the precise link between individual weather events and global warming, there is no doubt that such a frequency and intensity of disasters would not have occurred without climate change.

Countless Inochi are being lost or endangered across the globe due to these weather disasters. In developed countries, the impact is mitigated by adaptation measures such as air conditioning, levees, and controlled agriculture, but in developing countries, people suffer far greater losses. Ecosystems, unable to adapt, face even more severe damage. The greenhouse gases emitted historically by developed countries continue to affect the Inochi of current and future generations worldwide—and the impacts will only grow more severe for later generations.

If these facts were recognized as our own concern, our behaviors would naturally change. As the world shifts toward dematerialization and a circular economy, the main sources of greenhouse gas emissions are moving away from “manu- facturing” toward “living”—our clothing, food, housing, and transportation. In other words, our daily choices in energy use, housing, consumer goods, and modes of transport will have a major impact on the Inochi of the future world.

It is critical to actively adopt decarbonization technologies and transition industries away from fossil fuel dependence, halting the progression of global warming, fostering economic growth, and building a bright future.

However, many people still lack proper awareness. For instance, when the government announces, “We will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” many may believe that a decarbonized society will somehow materialize automatically as solar and wind energy expand “behind the plug,” without their direct involvement.

What is needed for everyone to correctly recognize and begin taking action on climate change? Above all, we must cultivate the imagination to care for future generations and distant lives around the world—and to understand the relationship between our actions and their impacts.

This requires accurate scientific knowledge about climate change and the fostering of imagination based on science. Moreover, it is essential to rethink how we consume energy in our daily lives.

At the Urban Energy Systems Laboratory of The University of Osaka’s Graduate School of Engineering (led by Professor Yoshiyuki Shimoda), long-standing research has focused on modeling energy demand related to everyday living. More recently, they have participated in the international collaborative research network EDITS (Energy Demand changes Induced by Technological and Social innovations), which aims to present scenarios for achieving low-energy societies without compromising people’s well-being. EDITS conducts comparative studies of data, concepts, and models related to energy demand, and develops feasible low-energy demand scenarios while considering the impacts of digitalization, the sharing economy, the need to ensure Decent Living Standards in developing countries, alignment with the SDGs, and the evolving nature of services.

The Inochi Forum will promote these activities, aiming to realize a world where, by 2050, all individuals engage with climate change as their personal issue and actively work toward solutions.

[Refereces]

・IPCC, Special Report: Global Warming of 1.5°C – Summary for Policymakers:
https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/spm

・Japan’s Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures (October 2021):
https://www.env.go.jp/earth/ondanka/keikaku/211022.html

・Japan’s Long-term Strategy as a Growth Strategy Based on the Paris Agreement (October 2021):
https://www.env.go.jp/earth/ondanka/keikaku/chokisenryaku.html

・International Joint Project for Model Comparison on Energy Demand Changes Driven by Technological and Social Innovations:
https://www.rite.or.jp/system/research/edits/

[Action Platform]

Energy and Climate Change


[SDGs]