×SDGs

Having said that, to encourage quantitative sustainability assessment based on scientific expertise, the United Nations report developed a sustainability index (The New National Wealth Index). The New National Wealth Index is an index that measures the total capital that creates a sustainable society and economy and is determined by summing up the human, physical natural capitals. By measuring and forecasting wealth using powerful instruments such as the New National Wealth Index, we can decide what direction the future world should take to achieve a sustainable society.

Realizing Decarbonized Society will reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as carbon dioxide (CO2) to zero as a whole by 2050, which is a common challenge for the world. The Paris Agreement, an international framework, was adopted in December 2015 with the global goal of achieving a balance between anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases by the second half of this century.

Conventionally, the world was aiming for a society with low CO2 emissions (low-carbon society). However, there is greater awareness that the low-carbon society’s objectives are inadequate to combat climate change. Therefore, the international community urges to transition from a low-carbon society to a decarbonized society, mentioning that the simple extension and improvement of conventional technology will not be enough to achieve a decarbonized society. Therefore, it is important to envisage the future of the energy system of society and lead the paradigm shift in technology, industry, and society. Examples would be the hydrogen society model that uses CO2-free hydrogen from clean energy sources such as wind power and negative emission technologies to recover CO2 from the atmosphere directly. Therefore, while confronting real problems such as problems regarding renewable energy and the re-start of nuclear power plants, we will broaden our efforts to build a society that will make Kyushu’s future innovative technological innovations and policy suggestions forefront of energy problems.

Healthy and stable society refers to a society that contributes to a decrease in the medical costs of governments and local governments while at the same time aiming at a society in which people can remain healthy for a longer period of time. Aiming for a community where people can live in good health and work in peace of mind, and address issues that hinder society’s sustainable development and the economy can lead to a healthy and secure society. To ensure this healthy and secure society and improve quality of life, it is necessary to improve medical care and efficiency by utilizing medical data and digital medical care technology.

The establishment of a medical treatment/prevention system and a device that integrates clinical science is also critical. In Japan, particularly, the need for technological innovations to establish a healthier and happier life and the social structure is rising due to the aging populations and health demands. Kyushu University should accelerate efforts to generate social value through health technology.

To realize a sustainable society, it is necessary to make efforts to meet all these requirements. To this end, Kyushu University should further encourage both basic and applied science, and support research efforts in multiple fields, and advocate efforts to develop solutions using new pieces of knowledge. I hope that the University of Kyushu will work as one to achieve the SDGs and contribute to the realization of a prosperous society.