Background
In recent years, the safety and security of people's lives around the world has been threatened by frequent floods and rising sea levels attributable to climate change. The COP 26 has set a common global goal of limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. It is an urgent task to cope with climate change as well as to utilize decarbonized and renewable energy.
The UN is promoting the SDGs which aim to achieve 17 Goals between 2015 and 2030. However, efforts to reach the Goals will not end in 2030, but will be an ongoing challenge for humanity beyond 2030.
Here, we tentatively call the Goals to be achieved after the SDGs as "Next SDGs".
WCFS2023 Japan aims to pioneer the SDGs and Next SDGs by making the most use of ocean and water. Ocean and water have the potential to provide solutions to the disasters such as flooding and sea level rise due to climate change. In this context, WCFS2023 Japan will position ocean and water as the urban infrastructure and will explore new technology and feasible solutions. In particular, it is necessary to consider urban planning, marine architecture, port planning connecting land and sea, disaster prevention, renewable energy and food production on the sea and water. Further, it is indispensable that knowledge, experience, dream and strong desire to realize these challenges are supported by a diversity of people.