SDGs Collaborative Research Unit

It is no exaggeration to say that the quest for sustainable development is the biggest problem faced by the modern world. Economic development without considering the environment has led to various hazards such as global warming; moreover, despite growth in the world economy, economic disparities have increased, and extreme poverty, threatening survival itself, is now even more widespread in many developing countries. The United Nations has advocated sustainable development goals (SDGs), with the objective of promoting a response to this harsh situation.

The University of Tokyo has already strongly advocated research on SDGs via the Future Society Initiative. The aim of the SDGs Collaborative Research Unit, of the Institute for Future Initiative (IFI), proposed here would be to become a hub and to focus research on SDGs at the University of Tokyo.

Examples of activities conducted would include: (1) research on alternatives to achieve sustainability in the global environment; (2) clarification of the impact of the environmental change on social or political instability, in collaboration with the Security Studies Unit; and (3) research related to the possibility of economic development linked to sustainability, in collaboration with the Risks in the Global Economy: Analysis and Policy Research Unit, which are scheduled to be the principal topics. It is hoped that research on SDGs will be performed in collaboration with other research areas of this institute, the research organizations of the University of Tokyo, and with Japanese and overseas research organizations.