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Climate change is significantly altering the environment, damaging ecosystems and fueling extreme weather events across the world, from deadly wildfires in California and Greece to devastating downpours and landslides in Japan. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a code-red report definitively stating that today’s climate crisis is human-driven—how will the administrations of Japan and the U.S. prioritize their response? Prime Minister Suga has pledged Japan’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050, while the U.S. officially rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement during President Biden's first hours in office. Corporations also have a critical role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing toward a more sustainable future. In this webinar, experts discuss climate and environmental policy in Japan and the U.S., how leading corporations are addressing this challenge, and the potential of private-public partnerships as a policy response.

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About the Speakers:

Audrey Choi is Morgan Stanley’s Chief Sustainability Officer and is the founding CEO of Morgan Stanley’s industry-leading Institute for Sustainable Investing where she oversees the Firm's efforts to promote global sustainability through the capital markets. She also serves on the Firm’s Management Committee and for four years, Ms. Choi simultaneously served as Morgan Stanley’s Chief Marketing Officer where she stewarded the brand to reflect the Firm's core values of leading with integrity and exceptional ideas, and won industry awards for best corporate strategy and media innovation as the Morgan Stanley brand reached an all-time high. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Ms. Choi held senior policy positions in the Clinton Administration, including serving as Chief of Staff of the Council of Economic Advisers, and Domestic Policy Advisor to the Vice President. Previously, Ms. Choi was a foreign correspondent and bureau chief at The Wall Street Journal. She serves on the boards of several national nonprofits focused on sustainability, community development and social justice. Ms. Choi is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.

Dr. Naoko Ishii is a professor and executive vice president at the University of Tokyo, where she is also the inaugural director for the Center for Global Commons, whose mission is to catalyze systems change so that humans can achieve sustainable development within planetary boundaries. She believes academia can and should play an active role in mobilizing movements towards shared goals of nurturing stewardship of the global commons. Before joining the university, Dr. Ishii was CEO and chairperson of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) from 2012-2020. She formed GEF’s first mid-term strategy, GEF 2020, focusing on the transformation of key economic systems. Dr. Ishii entered Japan’s Ministry of Finance in 1981 and served as Deputy Vice Minister of Finance from 2010-2012. She holds a B.A. in economics and a Ph.D. in international development, both from the University of Tokyo.

Miho Kurosaki leads analysis on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) in Asia Pacific region. Prior to her current role, she managed Japan and Korea research team analyzing Japan’s power market, economics of renewable energy and energy policy. She is a member of the climate change expert panel for Prime Minister’s Office of Japan and an independent advisor to RE100 initiative. She also served as a committee member of climate change advisory panel for Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan and coal export policy for Ministry of Environment of Japan. Prior to joining BNEF, she has developed Bloomberg’s ESG analytics platform as a senior ESG analyst. She has also worked for a London based environmental research firm, Trucost, as an analyst covering environmental risks in portfolio management. Miho holds an MSc in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a BA in Economics from Keio University.

Melanie Nakagawa serves as the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy at the National Security Council. Her work includes the U.S. return to the Paris Agreement and advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s policy of integrating climate change into U.S. foreign policy and national security. Most recently, she was the Director of Climate Strategy at Princeville Capital, leading their climate-focused strategy to invest in global growth-stage technology-enabled companies delivering transformative solutions to climate change, and launching their inaugural climate tech fund. Prior to her investment role, she served in the Obama-Biden administration as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Energy Transformation at the U.S. State Department and was a strategic advisor on climate change to the U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Earlier in her career, she was the Senior Energy and Environment Counsel for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Nakagawa earned a J.D. from American University Washington College of Law, an M.A. in International Affairs from American University’s School of International Service, and an A.B. from Brown University.

About the Moderator:

Carolyn Kissane, Academic Director & Clinical Professor, Global Affairs and Global Security, Conflict, and Cybercrime, Center for Global Affairs, New York University

Images and Biographies provided by Japan Society