Overview

Saitama city organized a global sustainability summit in Nov 2022. Co-organized with ICLEI Japan and IGES, the summit was aimed at cementing Saitama’s role as a leading city in the sustainability transition in Japan and around the world. UTA helped identify suitable speakers from UTA members, and UTA board member, Hiroaki Nishi chaired one of the breakout sessions – Sustainable development of a data-driven smart city through Public-Private Partnership

The overriding goal of the summit was:

To discuss and explore how to establish sustainable and resilient City Regions for Localizing the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) In particular, showcasing experiences from global cities and regions on paths to a decarbonized society; exchange opinions and sharing information on effective policies for sustainable cities; work towards strengthening partnerships among leading global cities.

The summit was spread over 3 days, with significant physical and virtual participation from senior level mayors or city staff from cities in Japan and from around the world.

  • Mayor SHIMIZU Hayato, City of Saitama, Japan,
  • Mayor HISAMOTO Kizo, Mayors Association of Designated Cities, / City of Kobe, Japan
  • Mayor Ed Gainey, City of Pittsburgh, USA
  • Gino Van Begin, ICLEI, Secretary General
  • TAKEUCHI Kazuhiko, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), President
  • Mayor Peter Kurz, City of Mannheim, Germany
  • Mayor Marcus König, City of Nuremberg, Germany
  • Mayor Datuk Seri Mahadi Che Ngahm City of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Councilmember Kelly King, County of Maui, Hawaii, USA
  • Mayor Nuatali Nelmes, City of Newcastle, Australia
  • Mayor SUZUKI Yasutomo, City of Hamamatsu, Japan
  • Councillor Daniel Alsina, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona, Spain
  • Kristin Hull, Portland Bureau of Transportation, OR, USA
  • Mayor MUROI Shohei, Aizuwakamatsu city, Japan
  • Sture Portvik, Agency for Urban Environment City of Oslo, Norway
  • Micael Nord, City of Malmö, Sweden
  • FUJITA Hiroyuki, City of Kyoto, Japan
  • Mayor Sally Capp, City of Melbourne, Australia
  • Deputy Mayor, MATSUBARA Takeshi, Matsuyama City, Japan
  • Mayor IGARASHI Tatsuo, City of Tsukuba, Japan

The summit was organised into 6 sessions, each one focusing on one aspect of the larger theme of sustainability

  • Sustainable development of a data-driven smart city through Public-Private Partnership
  • Realization of energy efficiency and adoption of microgrids together with on-site renewable energy
  • Innovative mobility services for sustainable modes of transport
  • Building a resilient city successfully adapting to climate change
  • The nexus of clean energy towards a net-zero-emission future
  • Challenge to Zero Emission in mobility

A summary of the UTA session is found below, but the over-arching result of the summit was a high level set of commitments made by Mayor Shimizu on behalf of Saitama City:

  • Ownership of community development
    • As policy implementors with the best understanding of the community, we aim to create a sustainable environment in which humanity can continue to live in comfort and pass the baton to the next generation.
  • Partnership with global community
    • Cities, companies, and related organizations aim to continuously collaborate with each other by leveraging their mutual strengths and pursuing synergies as one to achieve global goals.
  • Leadership in policy deployment
    • Actively participate in the policy-making process, including through dialogues with national policymakers, and contribute to strengthening multilevel governance toward the realization of sustainable cities.

Read more about the UTA session: Sustainable development of data driven smart cities

And read a quick summary of the other 5 sessions

You can see details of the full summit here