Hiroshi Okuda
Senior Advisor Member of the Board, Toyota Motor Corporation
He is the Senior Advisor and Member of the Board of Toyota Motor Corporation. Mr.Okuda served as President of Toyota from 1995 till 1999. After retiring as Chairman, he assumed his present post in 2006, and has held important posts including Chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers' Associations and the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren). As the President of Toyota, he played an important role in promoting the development of the hybrid car "Prius." In December 2007, he was appointed as a special advisor to the Japanese Cabinet to give advice on the planning and formulation of anti-global warming measures and on overall economic policies.
Margaret Beckett
Member of Parliament for Derby South, U.K; Former Foreign Secretary of the U.K.
She was the UK's first female Foreign Secretary. Ms. Beckett's previous positions include Secretary of State for Environment, President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons. In 1994, She became Labour Leader of the Opposition. She chaired the first ever meeting of the Security Council to discuss climate security securing the EU agreement to take concrete and binding steps to create the world's first ever energy security in low carbon economy. Ms. Beckett was the chief EU and UK negotiator at the Climate Change Convention Meeting in Montreal at which the basis for negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol after 2012 was agreed. She chaired both the Agriculture and Environment Council throughout the UK's Presidency of the EU.
Connie Hedegaard
Minister of Climate and Energy, Denmark
She was a member of Folketinget (the Danish Parliament) from 1984 to 1990, and progressed to being her party's political spokeswoman. From 1990 to 2004, Ms. Hedegaard chose a new career in the media working as a newspaper journalist, director of radio news, and television anchorwoman for the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. She was also a columnist for the newspaper Politiken. During a government reshuffle in 2004, Ms. Hedegaard made a political comeback when she was appointed Minister for the Environment, a position to which she was re-elected in the general election in November 2007. Subsequently, she was appointed Minister for Climate and Energy, with particular responsibility for preparing the UN Environment Summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
Wen Bo
China Program Director for Pacific Environment
He is Pacific Environment's Beijing-based China Program Director. Mr. Wen graduated from Zhongnan University in 1994 and from the China School of Journalism in Beijing in 1996, and he earned his Master’s degree in international relations from KDI School of International Policy and Management in Seoul. He is the founder of the China Green Student Forum. Mr. Wen was a journalist at China Environment News from 1996 to 1998, and studied for a certificate course at the Center for Environment Education in India in 1997. In 2000 he set up a Greenpeace office in Beijing, and is currently on the China Advisory Board of Global Greengrants Fund to facilitate the growth of environmental communities in China. He is also an Asia Society Asia 21 Fellow.
Mohan Munasinghe
Vice Chairman of IPCC
He is Vice Chairman of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Geneva, co-winner of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on global warming. Concurrently, Dr. Munasinghe is Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute of Development (MIND), Colombo; Honorary Senior Advisor to the Sri Lanka Government; and Visiting Professor at the United Nations University, Tokyo. In the past 35 years he has served as Senior Energy Advisor to the President of Sri Lanka, Advisor to the United States Presidents Council on Environmental Quality and Senior Advisor/Director at the World Bank. He has authored 90 books and over three hundred technical papers on economics, sustainable development, climate change and information technology.
Atsutoshi Nishida
President and CEO, Toshiba Corporation
He is President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba Corporation. Mr. Nishida joined Toshiba in 1975, through a joint venture with a local company in Iran. On his return to Japan, he pioneered development of the laptop PC, and led its 1985 launch in Europe. When he became Toshiba's President & CEO, he defined "Sustained Growth with Strong Profit" as a core Toshiba management policy and, in line with this, he has promoted strong initiatives to emphasize higher growth and strategic resource allocation. Results include major investments in semiconductor business and the acquisition of Westinghouse Electric Company, the leading nuclear power company.
James B. Steinberg
Dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin
He is dean of the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and is a former Deputy National Security Advisor to President Clinton. Mr. Steinberg's previous positions include vice president and director of Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution, senior advisor at the Markle Foundation, director of the Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. Department of State, and senior analyst at RAND. He serves on the board of directors of the Pacific Council on International Policy. He is a member of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists' Science and Security Board, the President's Council on International Activities of Yale University, the board of advisors of the Center for a New American Security, and the editorial board of The Washington Quarterly.
Yoichi Funabashi
Editor-in-Chief, The Asahi Shimbun
He is Editor-in-Chief of The Asahi Shimbun. He is also a contributing editor to Foreign Policy (Washington, D.C.) and serves as a member of the Board of Trustees for the International Crisis Group (Brussels). Dr. Funabashi served as correspondent for The Asahi Shimbun in Beijing (1980-81) and Washington (1984-87), and as American General Bureau Chief (1993-97). He has also been a Donald Keene Fellow at Columbia University (2003) and a Distinguished Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. (2005-2006). His recent books in English include: "The Peninsula Question: A Chronicle of the Second Korean Nuclear Crisis" (2007); "Reconciliation in the Asia-Pacific" (2003); "Alliance Tomorrow" (2001); and "Alliance Adrift" (1998).
Hironori Hamanaka
Chairperson of the IGES
He is Chair of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Professor of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University. He was the Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of the Environment. He served with the government in the field of global environmental policies. He has been committed to intergovernmental negotiations for the Kyoto Protocol and its implementing rules; to major agreements in the field of sustainable development, such as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002; and to the development of national policies to implement international agreements, most notably the Kyoto Protocol.
Carl Guardino
President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group
He is the President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a public policy trade association that represents more than 260 of Silicon Valley's most respected companies. California state Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Mr.Guardino to a four-year term on the California Transportation Commission. He has been the Chief Executive of the Leadership Group since 1997. He previously served as a vice president with the organization between 1991 and 1995. In the interim, he held an executive position in governmental affairs with Hewlett Packard. Earlier, he also spent six years on the staff of Central Valley Assemblyman Rusty Areias, the last three as Assemblyman Areias's chief assistant.
Satoshi Kawachi
Executive Vice President, Member of Board of Directors, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.
He is Executive Vice President and Member of the Board of Directors of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Mr. Kawachi was appointed as a member of the Board and General Manager of the Chiba Works in 1995. He was then appointed Managing Executive Officer in 1998, Senior Managing Executive Officer in 2002 and Vice President in 2004. He is a member of the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA), Chairman of the Working Group on Energy and Climate Change, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environmental Risks, a part of the Committee on Environment and Safety in the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), as well as Chairman of the Japan Chemical Innovation Institute's Steering Committee for Innovation Advancement.
Katsuya Okada
Former President of the Democratic Party of Japan; Chief of a task force for global warming in the Democratic Party of Japan
He is former President of the Democratic Party of Japan, Director of Global Warming Strategy Headquarters, a member of the House of Representatives of Japan and Senior Director of the Committee on Budget. He entered the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in 1976. With his first election in 1990, Mr. Okada is now serving his sixth term as a member of the House of Representatives. He left the Liberal Democratic Party in 1993, and participated in the formation of the Hosokawa and Hata Coalition Cabinet. Thereafter, he has stood firm in his belief in "Realization of Regime Change in Wilderness". From the foundation of the Democratic Party in 1998, he assumed several Party posts, including Chairman of the Policy Research Council and Secretary General, and served as the President of the Party from 2004 till 2005.
Erik Rasmussen
the Copenhagen Climate Councillor
He is the founder and CEO of Scandinavia's largest think tank, Monday Morning, which has positioned itself internationally with the establishment of Monday Morning Weekly in Norway as well as projects in Sweden and other European countries. In October 2006, the World Economic Forum appointed Mr. Rasmussen one of the world's 100 most influential journalists. Aside from the Copenhagen Climate Council, the latest project launched by Monday Morning is "Co-existence of Civilizations," an ambitious venture aimed at establishing an international think tank embracing the World Economic Forum, Asia-Europe Foundation and The Nordic Council amongst others.
Takejiro Sueyoshi
Special Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative(UNEP FI)
He is Special Advisor to the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Council for PM on global warming issues. During his years with Nikko Asset Management, Mr. Sueyoshi was appointed as a member of the UNEP FI Steering Committee. Since his retirement in 2002, he has been committed to inviting the UNEP FI Global Roundtable to Japan. The UNEP FI Tokyo Global Roundtable Conference in 2003 ended successfully. In addition to his involvement in the UNEP FI activities, Mr. Sueyoshi gives many educational speeches about environmental problems and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) for various government councils, seminars and TV programs.
Moses Tsang
Chairman of Ajia Partners,Hong Kong
He has been the Chairman & Managing Partner of Ajia Partners since 2003. Mr. Tsang was a General Partner of Goldman Sachs Group, a global investment bank, where he led the establishment of the Fixed Income Group in Tokyo and headed the Debt Syndicate Group in London. He also served as the Chairman of Goldman Sachs (Asia) L.L.C. between 1989 and 1994. Mr. Tsang is an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of both Fubon Bank and China Central Properties in Hong Kong. He is a trustee of the Hong Kong Centre for Economic Research at the University of Hong Kong; a member of The Nature Conservancy's Asia Pacific Council and of its Trustee Advisory Council; and a councilor of the Copenhagen Climate Council.
Izumi Washitani
Professor of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the University of Tokyo
She is Professor of the Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the University of Tokyo, and Member of the Science Council of Japan and the Central Environmental Council. Dr. Washitani was appointed as Professor in 2000 after occupying such posts as Lecturer and Associate Professor at Tsukuba University in Ibaraki. Her expertise includes ecology, and specifically conservation ecology (ecological research into the evolution of plant life history, biological interaction between plants and insects, conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem restoration). Her publications include "Shizen Saisei (Regeneration of Nature)" (Chuokoron Shinsha), "E de wakaru seitaikei no shikumi (An Illustrated Guide to Ecosystem)" (Kodansha).
Ezekiel Dembe
Director of Planning and Projects Development of Tanzania National Parks
He was trained in wildlife management, forestry and protected landscapes. Mr. Dembe has worked in Tanzania National Parks since 1980 in various positions including Park Warden, with involvement in such areas as anti-poaching, tourism, community conservation, and planning and development projects. He has developed general management plans for biodiversity conservation in all Tanzanian National Parks, several game reserves, and community areas. Mr. Dembe has facilitated development of plans in Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe conservation agencies. He spearheaded the involvement of local communities in the conservation of biodiversity in all villages adjacent to national parks in Tanzania.
Tokutake Okajima
Advisor of the Higashiyama Botanical Gardens;
Former Chairman of the Japan Association of Botanical Gardens
He is former President of the Japan Association of Botanical Gardens and Advisor for the Higashiyama Botanical Garden. He took the initiative in preserving azaleas, characteristic plants in the natural vegetation of the Garden, and many wetland plants indigenous to the Tokai region. During his service in the Japan Association of Botanical Gardens, he was a member of the mission to overseas botanical gardens to study how they are managed, including methods of plant conservation and landscaping. Last year, he participated in the 3rd Global Botanic Gardens Congress held in China and the Buffon International Symposium held in Paris, where he studied how individual countries were committed to such areas as biodiversity.
Akio Shoji
Representative Director and President of Aleph Inc.
He is a Representative Director and President of Sapporo-based Aleph Inc., and also runs a number of companies including Bikkuri Donkey hamburger chain. Mr. Shoji, who was born in Iwate Prefecture in the northern part of Japan, was a jazz drummer before going into the restaurant chain business. With his belief that harmonious coexistence with nature is an essential requirement for the safety and security of food, he has been deeply involved in environmental issues such as biodiversity, and has implemented various pioneering measures to save resources and energy as well as developing environmental technology. In 2004, he received the Minister's Prize in the field of environmental friendliness from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Sebastian Winkler
Head of the Countdown 2010 Secretariat/The World Conservation Union(IUCN)
He has been working with IUCN since 1997. Mr. Winkler's wide-ranging professional experience in IUCN covers programmatic, institutional and management issues; outreach and fundraising; and international policy agenda with a particular focus on trade and climate change. Currently he heads the Countdown 2010 Secretariat and is IUCN's Senior Advisor on European Policy, which includes providing policy advice to the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Prior to joining IUCN, Mr Winkler worked with UNEP's Economics, Environment and Trade Unit in Geneva; with the World Food Program's Office of Evaluation; and for Mexico's Deputy Minister of Environment.
Hitoshi Watanabe
Associate Professor of Faculty of Commerce, Nagoya Gakuin University
He is Associate Professor of the Faculty of Commerce at Nagoya Gakuin University. His expertise includes water problems, ecology and journalism. He began his career as a journalist when he joined The Asahi Shimbun in 1969, focusing primarily on the coverage of water and environment issues in Japan and the world. During his long career with The Asahi Shimbun, Mr. Watanabe served as a city news correspondent, as an editor and also as an editorial writer. In 2005 he was appointed to his present post. His publications include "Mizu no keisho (Water Warning)" (Suiyosha), "Gekiryu no Nagaragawa (Furious Torrent of the Nagara River)" (FA Publishing) and "Taiyo no mura kara (From Sun Village)" (Shichiken Publishing).
Yukiko Kada
Governor of Shiga Prefecture
After entering the Shiga Prefectural Government in 1981, she undertook various services including as researcher at the Lake Biwa Research Institute and general curator of the Lake Biwa Museum. Lake Biwa is Japan's largest lake. In 2000, Dr. Kada was appointed as Professor of the Faculty of Humanities at Kyoto Seika University and Research Fellow of Lake Biwa Museum. Over the past 30 years, she has visited many places in Shiga Prefecture and studied the relationship between people's lives and Lake Biwa. She was elected as the Governor of Shiga in 2006. Dr. Kada has been committed to the building of a society that might support the development of the next generations and the rediscovery of local assets.
Mingsarn Santikarn Kaosa-ard
Director of the Social Research Institute; Professor in the Faculty of Economics, Chiang Mai University, Thailand
She is Professor of the Faculty of Economics at Chiang Mai University in Northern Thailand and holds the concurrent position of Director of the Social Research Institute of the same university. She started her career with Chiang Mai University's Department of Economics and became the head of the Economics Department in 1990 and a full professor in 2003. She was seconded to UNESCAP (1979-1989) and later to the Thailand Development Research Institute. She has undertaken research and writings in a number of areas including environmental planning and environmental sector priority setting in Thailand, water resources policy and Mekong tourism.
Ma Jun
Director of the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, China
He began his environmental research and writing in the mid-1990s, when he worked for South China Morning Post. In late 1999, his book on China's water crisis was published by China Environmental Science Press. Mr. Ma worked as an environmental consultant and a Yale World Fellow from 2002 to 2005. He currently directs the IPE (Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs), which developed the China Water Pollution Map, the first public database of water pollution information in China. Mr. Ma was named a 2006 Green China Man of the Year by State Environmental Protection Department for creating this database. He also manages the newly launched China Air Pollution Map, a joint program with WWF Hong Kong and ADM Foundation.
Tushaar Shah
Senior Advisor to the Director General at the Colombo-based International Water Management Institute
Over the past 25 years, his main research interests have been in water institutions and policies in South Asia (particularly, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal), a subject on which he has published extensively. In particular, he has carried out extensive studies on water governance issues in this region, as well as in the North China plains. He has also explored groundwater management models in Mexico, China and Spain to distill the practical lessons which these countries offer for improving groundwater management in South Asia. More recently, his interests have lain in comparative analyses of water institutions and policies across Asia and between South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Toshiro Kojima
Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs, Ministry of the Environment, Japan
He is Vice-Minister for Global Environmental Affairs at the Ministry of the Environment of Japan. Mr. Kojima entered the Environment Agency (now the Ministry of the Environment) in 1973. In 1982, he was transferred temporarily to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). He served with the Government in the field of environmental policies, focusing on water issues among others. Following tenure in such posts as Director of the Water Quality Management Division of the Water Quality Bureau, and Director of the Planning Division of the Environmental Health Department, Mr. Kojima was appointed as Director-General of the Global Environment Bureau in 2003 and assumed his current post in 2005.
