September 4th 2026 (online)

Jane graciously accepted our invitation to speak, wishing to deliver a message of “hope” to us in Japan.

She shared past milestones as well as current ongoing initiatives in Wales.

The Well-being of Future Generations Act establishes “7 Well-being Goals,” which the national government and public bodies are legally required to achieve.

The wording of these goals is based on voices gathered during a national conversation in 2014, where people were asked what kind of country they wanted to live in. Jane emphasized that collecting these voices across communities was meaningful precisely because it was led not by the government, but by an umbrella organization of various large and small NGOs, working in collaboration with young people and climate activists.

At the request of the Welsh Government and the leader of Plaid Cymru, Jane currently serves as the chair of the country’s Net Zero plan. Utilizing insights from leading global research institutes, she helped formulate a 10-year action plan outlining the immediate steps the government must take to reach its goals by 2050. As a result, Wales is on track to achieve these targets at a pace exceeding the UK as a whole. Jane strongly hopes the government will spark another national conversation to re-engage citizens’ voices on this initiative.

Additionally, she introduced recent developments, such as the Welsh Government addressing climate change and nature loss as an integrated issue.

Jane’s last point was about loving. “Do we love each other enough in order to take this agenda forward?”

Today, environmental rights, the rights of indigenous peoples and communities, and the rights of future generations and nature are beginning to gain recognition. She explained that the foundational pillars for these are the right to know, the right to participate, and the right to seek redress.

In Ecuador, the rights of nature have been recognized in the constitution. There are shared principles with the Future Generations Act, such as applying precautionary measures and adopting approaches unique to local contexts.

To realize these rights, specific decision-making mechanisms are essential.

Information is necessary to make decisions, and societal mechanisms are required to challenge decisions if they are wrong. To guarantee these as rights, the Aarhus Convention was adopted in the environmental field in 1998. Similarly, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Escazú Agreement was adopted in 2018.

Furthermore, regarding public participation in policy, in cases such as development permits, it is crucial to analyze who will be affected by the development even before the application process begins. The affected individuals and developers must actively engage in dialogue beyond the standard legal framework.

The Aarhus Convention emphasizes that the law serves merely as a minimum guarantee. Information should be provided free of charge, and opportunities should be made available not only for submitting written opinions, but also for two-way dialogue. Even if an opinion is not adopted, how those concerns and opinions were taken into account should be traceable. Publishing the final decision ensures that if there are violations of rules in the decision-making process, they can be challenged in court.

While concerns regarding renewable energy are also heard in Japan, Noriko Okubo highlighted the importance of not hiding these concerns, but rather working together to create better solutions. As an example, she cited a local ordinance in Aomori enacted to foster the coexistence of Mt. Hakkoda’s natural environment and wind power generation.

She noted that simply declaring rights is not enough; real change comes from building up processes step-by-step, emphasizing the necessity of accumulating small, steady changes.

Climate litigation is on the rise globally, with court rulings in one country increasingly influencing others. As an example, a student movement in the Republic of Vanuatu created a powerful worldwide momentum, leading to an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice.

Masako Ichihara pointed out that climate litigation is being brought by those whose voices have not been sufficiently reflected in climate laws primarily developed by advanced nations. She noted that a roadmap forward involves creating rules through accumulated judicial precedents and combining them in an appropriately balanced way.

Ryota Yokoyama spoke from his perspective as a plaintiff in youth climate litigation. While there have been only six climate lawsuits in Japan so far, climate litigation serves as a key tool to urge an energy transition and protect the future, with over 3,000 cases filed worldwide.

He stated that what they are demanding is science-based emissions reduction. His wish is nothing extraordinary—simply to protect a ordinary future where everyone can safely enjoy sports and experience the rich change of Japan’s four seasons.