Global Commons Forum 2025
- Date：Tue, Oct 07, 2025
- Time：9:30-16:45
- Location：Ichijo Hall, Yayoi Auditorium, The University of Tokyo (Hybrid format)
- Co-hosts：
The University of Tokyo
Center for Global Commons
RIKEN - Language：
English (Japanese simultaneous interpretation available)
- Participation fee：
JPY1,000 (on-site, capacity: 300 participants) / Free (online)
- Registration：
pre-registration is required for both on-site and online participation.
※ On-site registration will close once capacity is reached.
※ A networking space will also be provided for on-site participants on the day of the event.
Planetary Boundary science demonstrates that today’s economic system is pushing the Earth system beyond its stability and resilience—the very limits of the “Global Commons,” our shared human heritage. To safeguard humanity’s well-being and prevent drifting away from the “safe operating space” of the planet, an urgent transformation of our economic system is required.
One effective means is to properly value natural capital and integrate it into economic decision-making. At this forum, experts from around the world will gather to present pathways forward, including the latest developments in Planetary Boundary science, accelerating the transition to a new economic system through the valuation of natural capital, connecting local initiatives with global perspectives, and building effective AI governance to support these efforts.
Global Commons Forum Secretariat
cgc.forum.adm[at]ifi.u-tokyo.ac.jp *[at]→@
On October 7, the Center for Global Commons, Institute for Future Initiatives, University of Tokyo co-hosted the Global Commons Forum 2025 in collaboration with RIKEN. The Forum was held at the Yayoi Auditorium Ichijo Hall, University of Tokyo and online, with approximately 600 participants in total.
The Earth System in Crisis and the Urgent Need for Economic System Transformation
The “Global Commons”, a stable and resilient Earth system that supports human activity, is a shared asset of all mankind. Rapid economic development since the mid-20th century has exceeded the limits of the Earth system, with its impacts threatening economic and social stability worldwide. At the same time, progress made to date on the SDGs and the Paris Agreement on climate change has not been adequate. With the recent geopolitical shifts presenting even more challenges, international efforts to preserve the global commons are in a critical state.
The theme of the Forum this year was “Safeguarding Global Commons through Transition to Nature Positive Economy.” The objective was to present concrete pathways toward a new economic system that preserves the Global Commons. The Forum introduced the “Nature on the Balance Sheet” Initiative, which seeks to integrate the value of natural capital into economic decision-making, as well as the latest corporate efforts and strategies to realize a nature-positive economy.
・Opening
Makoto Gonokami (President, RIKEN, National Research and Development Agency in Japan), Nahoko Ishii (Director, Center for Global Commons)
・Keynote Address
Thomas Crowther (Restor), Dominic Waughray (WBCSD)
・Special Session Planetary Health Check 2025
Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research)
・Session 1 Capitalizing Nature for Growth and Stability
・Session 2 The Fast Track to Nature as an Investable Asset
・Session 3 Capitals approach – Linking with ANCA Summit in Cape Town
・Session 4 Building Trusted Infrastructure for Nature Positive Economy: Local Actions for Global Commons
・Session 5 Will AI & HPC be the answer? The light and shadow of modern AI and its infrastructures towards Global Commons objectives
・Concluding
Teruo Fujii (President, The University of Tokyo), Kensuke Fukushi (Director, Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo)
*Please see the full report below.