Climate Change and the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit

As the international community continues to seek a sensible and a workable multilateral architecture for addressing climate change, the Japanese government has declared climate change a top priority as it prepares to host the G8 Summit in Hokkaido in July.

On March 3, the Brookings Institution hosted the top Japanese and U.S. climate change advisors for a discussion on their governments’ respective policy initiatives. The speakers explored options for a new international framework on climate change and discuss the role of the Hokkaido Summit as a critical milestone in ongoing climate policy negotiations. Speakers included Mutsuyoshi Nishimura, special advisor to the Japanese Cabinet on Climate Change; James Connaughton, chairman, White House Council on Environmental Quality; and Warwick McKibbin, nonresident senior fellow, The Brookings Institution.

Vice President and Director of Foreign Policy Carlos Pascual provided introductory remarks and moderated the panel discussion.

Listen to the full event » (mp3)