US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator
Gina McCarthy Visits Japan: Report on Speech and
Town Hall Meeting
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy arrived in Japan on August 23, 2015 to strengthen bilateral environmental cooperation between Japan and the United States. A town hall meeting on the theme of US Climate Action was held at the American Center in Tokyo on August 26, and Chuo University Research and Development Initiative (RDI) Professor Masataka Watanabe acted as chair and moderator.
Following the town hall meeting, a closed roundtable discussion took place with Japanese researchers working at the forefront of climate change and adaptation to it, and Professor Watanabe once again acted as chair and moderator.
The last visit to Japan by an EPA administrator was 11 years ago in 2004, and McCarthy came to Japan for the purpose of enhancing collaboration between Japan and the United States on environmental issues. On August 24 the EPA and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan (MOEJ) shared and exchanged information on practical climate change measures, and agreed to reinforce adaptation capabilities through knowledge-sharing networks including the Global Adaptation Network (GAN) and Asia Pacific Adaptation Network (APAN) chaired by Professor Watanabe as well as other worldwide networks for adaptation planning. Details of the agreement have been posted on the EPA and MOEJ websites.
United States EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy’s address on US climate change action given at the town hall meeting was her first overseas speech since President Obama’s August 3 announcement of the ground-breaking Clean Power Plan, which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from US coal-fired thermal power plants by 32% from 2005 levels by 2030, and it was attended by many experts and journalists.
Outlines of the town hall meeting and roundtable discussion were also posted with photos on McCarthy’s official Facebook page.
https://www.facebook.com/GinaMcCarthyEPA/posts/883074645116863
|
|
|