On October 4th 2022, the Waseda Institute for Advanced Studies (WIAS) and the Research Institute for Environmental Economics and Management (RIEEM) were honored to welcome Prof. Mohan Munasinghe. He is the Founder Chairman of the Munasinghe Institute of Development (MIND) and MIND Group, Colombo, the 2021 Blue Planet Prize Laureate, and Vice Chair of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-AR4). The event was attended by nearly 25 participants, both online and in person, from all over Japan.
In his talk, Prof. Munasinghe discussed the IPCC’s findings on climate change, and introduced the concept of the Balanced Inclusive Green Growth (BIGG). BIGG is a development path in which developed economies reduce their environmental impact while developing economies follow a green growth path that allow them to reach similar living conditions without destroying the environment and over-consuming natural resources. Prof. Munasinghe discussed the feasibility of the BIGG and the issue of weak governance that hinders further possibility of green growth and sustainable development.
His lecture was followed by a lively discussion among attendees. Attendees asked Prof. Munasinghe about the relationship between BIGG and the de-growth movement, which has been popular in European countries in recent years. He answered that de-growth is included in the BIGG framework, but must be solely considered for developed economies, while developing economies should be allowed to pursue green growth. Attendees were also curious to know whether Prof Munasinghe had any advice to solve the weak governance problem, to which he replied that we should prioritize local policies. Local policymakers tend to be closer to the issues in their communities, and thus, more likely to act and solve them.
