Description

On 5 and 6 December 2022, APCEL hosted the first-ever Global Environmental Measurement & Monitoring (GEMM) Initiative Asia Summit. The GEMM initiative is a joint international project by Optica and the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The GEMM Asia Summit took place in a hybrid fashion, with most delegates and observers attending in person while some tuned in online via Zoom.

The Summit brought together scientists, technologists, and policymakers from across the Asian region, including Singapore, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. The Summit served to spur interdisciplinary conversations and knowledge-sharing about new technologies for monitoring and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, air quality, and water quality.

Day 1 comprised sessions on air quality management and environmental policymaking in Singapore; satellite technology, oceans research, and environmental governance in Japan; ecosystem and air composition monitoring in China; air quality monitoring in South Korea; water and air governance in India; and environmental governance in Southeast Asia.

Day 2 saw parties from GEMM, Optica, and AGU sharing about the overarching ambition to accelerate actionable science and how that has been manifesting across GEMM’s regional centres in Northern California, Glasgow, and New Zealand. The Summit ended with a roundtable, moderated by Dr Jolene Lin (Director, APCEL), that was a time for all participants to share reflections about what they had learnt throughout the Summit.

APCEL is grateful to have had the opportunity to co-host and support this novel summit. For more information on GEMM, please visit their website at https://www.gemminitiative.org/en-us/ .

Introduction by Tomohiro Oda, Summit Chair

Opening Remarks by Satoshi Kawata, Optica President

Welcome speech by Jolene Lin, Director of Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Law, NUS Law

Jolene Lin moderating the Q&A

Group photo of all presenters and attendees