Identification of Minamata Disease

Minamata disease is one of the most severe diseases caused by environmental pollution in the world, which was first confirmed in 1956 in Minamata city, Japan, as caused by a heavy metal. However, The investigation was carried out energetically mainly by Kumamoto University, and in November 1956, the university reported that the disease is a certain type of heavy metal poisoning transmitted via fish and shellfish. However, due to limitations in knowledge and analytical technologies related to detecting environmental pollution at that time, the exact cause was confirmed only in 1967 as due to release of methylmercury in the industrial wastewater from the chemical firm, Chisso Corporation, contaminating nearby Minamata Bay.

Local citizens were poisoned by eating contaminated fish and shellfish from the bay (where the mercury bioaccumulated). The widespread mercury poisening caused neurological symptoms including muscle weakness and damage to the senses, and even death, as well as congenital effects to fetuses, affecting thousands of citizens.

As a result of this tragedy as well as other severe diseases discovered to result from industrial pollution, the Government of Japan established strong environmental pollution regulations based on the ‘Basic Law for Environment Pollution Control’ (legislated: 3rd August 1967), as well as compensation schemes for the victims.

Timeline entry contributed by Nobuyuki Konuma

The Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change

The Stern Review is a 700-page report released for the British Government in 2006, led by economist Nicholas Stern, on the economics of mitigating and adapting to climate change. This was the first serious attempt by any government to try to quantify in monetary terms the impacts of climate change.
The report concludes that global climate change is the greatest market failure the world has ever seen, and that the potential risk is so great that the benefits of strong, early action far outweigh the costs.
The report sparked widespread public debate and interest into the potential economic magnitude of anthropogenic climate change.

Timeline entry contributed by Emily Cox

‘Geoengineering the Climate - Science, Governance & Uncertainty’

‘Geoengineering the Climate - Science, Governance & Uncertainty’ is a report published by the Royal Society in September 2009 providing an assessment of the main geoengineering options for addressing climate change as well as a discussion of geoengineering governance issues such as those related to research and development and the potential deployment of geoengineering measures.

This was the first major publication addressing the potential of geoengineering solutions to address climate change. The report is important because it reviews technological fixes to the climate change problem that do not involve reducing carbon emissions. It also legitimises further research into the controversial geoengineering field. Given the slow political progress of climate change talks and the accelerating growth of emissions it is highly likely that this publication will influence science and technology
policy in the context of climate change in the coming decades.

The report was premised on a recognition of the widespread, diverse and significant impacts and costs of climate change, for which global efforts towards mitigation and adaptation are yet insufficient, specifically attention towards the reduction of emissions sufficient to avoid large-scale impacts.

The result has been interest in geoengineering, defined by the Royal Society’s report “as the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the planetary environment to counteract anthropogenic climate change.”

Acknowledging a lack of “accessible, high quality information on proposed geoengineering techniques which remain unproven and potentially dangerous”, the study aims to assess the various methods, their potential effectiveness and also possible risks posed.

In particular, it examines two types of geoengineering techniques: Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) (to remove CO2 directly from the atmosphere) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM) techniques (to reflect some of the sun’s light and heat away from Earth back into space)

The report recommends that parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change should increase efforts toward mitigation and adaptation; that “CDR and SRM geoengineering methods should only be considered as part of a wider package of options for addressing climate change” and that “CDR methods should be regarded as preferable to SRM methods.” The report also recommends that the UK government fund a ten year research programme into geoengineering, and with regard to governance that “The Royal Society, in collaboration with international science partners, should develop a code of practice for geoengineering research and provide recommendations to the international scientific community for a voluntary research governance framework.”

Timeline entry contributed by Matthew Gross and Joe Bull

International Space Station (ISS)

The International Space Station (ISS) project is the first project involving international cooperation to construct a space station, and involving 15 countries, including the US, Russia, members of the EU, Japan and Canada. Astronauts from a number of countries have visited the space station, for example, Marcos Pontes from Brazil and Yi So-yeon from South Korea were the first astronauts to go into space from their respective countries. Construction of the ISS was started at the end of the 1990s and still continues.

This was an epoch marking event for space development in the world, because for the first time the US and Russia cooperated in space development. It can be said that the event was the opening of a new era of space development not for military use.

Although the station is still under construction, it has already been used for various purposes. It is expected that activities in the space station, such as research concerning health and environment, and observation of the earth yield valuable findings for our sustainable development. Success in this project also means the enhancement of our biosphere.

The ISS project and space technology represented by this project can be one of the key technologies for sustainable development in future. At the same time, it can cause controversial arguments from various points of view such as practically or ethically, for example: do the benefits derived from the ISS correspond to the huge investment?; or should we live apart from ‘Mother Earth’ even if it is technologically possible?

Space technology is vital for thinking about sustainability, monitoring, and information, both positively and negatively.

Timeline entry contributed by Hiroko Takuma

Environmental Partnership for Sustainable Development founded

Founded in 1991 as a response to the dramatic political changes in the region, the Environmental Partnership for Central Europe (as it was first called) initially aimed to identify key environmental issues and goals within the regions, for which US-based private foundations could provide financial and technical support.

Moving from the Soviet regime and intense industrial production for economic growth towards the more Westernised goals for Sustainable Development provided a large ideological shift, so the goal for the EPCE was to support NGOs and governments while also encouraging grassroots civil engagement with the global sustainability agenda at both the local, community-based level and the broader cross-border level.

Today the EPSD functions as a consortium of national organisations that have awarded grants of around a total of €20 million across over 8,000 initiatives in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. While these projects target many areas of environmental protection - for example NGO capacity building, organic agriculture and biodiversity protection - their flagship project is the Central European Greenways project which promotes sustainable transport alongside local economic needs and community engagement. These national foundations are the largest source of private investment for sustainable development in the region and continue to support both governments and individuals in meeting and developing their sustainability goals.

Further programs of the EPSD include Schools for Sustainable Development and Alternative Energy including monitoring, information and debate on the risks of nuclear energy.

Timeline entry contributed by Sam Rush

Source: EPSD website

National Innovation Council for Competitiveness, Chile

The National Innovation Council for Competitiveness is a public-private partnership that acts as permanent adviser to the President of the Republic.

The National Innovation Council for Competitiviness proposal is based on three strategic pillars:
1. The establishment of a system of lifelong learning, accessible and quality that allows the country to have the human capital demand of the Knowledge Economy.
2. Strengthening platform generation, dissemination and application of knowledge which is based on continuous efforts and strong scientific and technological research consistent with the productive and social problems of the country.
3. The consolidation of an innovative business focused on value creation as a strategy of competition in global markets, with companies that are willing to take the leading role that they bear in the research and development and innovation.

Timeline entry contributed by Níckolas Laport