The Future of Earth and Biodiversity Week
Green cities and better ways of living thorough sustainability and aesthetics - the New European Bauhaus
European Union
Cities are central to the green transition, serving as laboratories where environmental policies deliver tangible results for citizens.
This session, framed by the New European Bauhaus (NEB), will explore what makes a city truly green: circular economy practices, nature-based solutions, sustainable architecture, and adaptation to climate challenges. Commissioner Roswall’s portfolio areas—water management, resilience, and circular economy—will feature alongside inspiring examples from European Green Capitals and pioneering Japanese cities. The dialogue will address reducing single-use plastics, rethinking public spaces, and the interplay of local initiatives and national regulation. In its second part, the session will focus on the NEB as a movement linking sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion, highlighting Europe–Japan collaboration in sustainable design and architecture.
Recorded video available
Discussion
- Circular economy
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | Japanese and English |
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Track Programme
- Time and
Date of
the event -
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2025.09.22[Mon]
13:30 ～ 15:00
(Venue Open 13:15)
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- Venue
- Pavilion
- EU Pavilion
Programme details
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With contributions from European Green Capital winners and Japanese city pioneers, the dialogue will explore how cities across continents are tackling pressing issues — such as reducing single-use plastics and transforming public spaces — and the role of both local initiatives and national regulators in driving change. The session will underline the real benefits of green urban policies: enhanced quality of life, efficient resource use, stronger community ties and a more supportive business environment.
In the second part of the session, the spotlight will turn more directly to the New European Bauhaus — a European movement that fuses sustainability, aesthetics and social inclusion. As the NEB aims to open up to participants beyond the EU, architects from Europe and Japan will join Commissioner Roswall to discuss how sustainably built architecture shapes greener cities and improves the daily lives of citizens.
In the spirit of the NEB and practical sustainability, this exchange will also ask how can small-scale projects contribute to broader urban transformation? And where can Europe and Japan converge in their visions for sustainable design and architecture?
Building resilient and green cities through international collaboration
Moderator: Jean-Eric Paquet, EU Ambassador to Japan
Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission
Margot Roose, Deputy Mayor of Tallinn
Takeharu Yamanaka, Mayor of Yokohama City, Japan
Hideyuki Yokoyama, Mayor of Osaka City, Japan
Designing sustainable futures – The New European Bauhaus in practice
Moderator: Marcos Ros Sempere MEP, Co-rapporteur on the New European Bauhaus
Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission
Shigeru Ban, Architect
Albert Edman, Head of Development, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
Reports
【Reflection】
Framed by the New European Bauhaus (NEB) values—sustainability, aesthetics and inclusion—the session examined what makes a city truly green, focusing on circular practices, nature-based solutions, sustainable architecture, and adaptation to climate challenges. Water management, resilience, and circular economy were highlighted, alongside examples from European Green Capitals and pioneering Japanese cities.
Key findings
Connect circular operations with public-space redesign.
Making collection, sorting and reuse a default in urban operations should go hand-in-hand with rethinking streets and public facilities.
Combine nature-based infrastructure with architectural quality.
Greening and rain-garden measures can be deployed with sustainable building practices to deliver environmental benefits and better lived experience.
Leverage multi-level governance and EU–Japan collaboration.
City initiatives scale faster when supported by enabling policies and shared learning across regions.
Conclusion
The session, aligned with NEB values, organised the concrete elements that make cities greener—circular practice, nature-based solutions, sustainable architecture and climate adaptation— and shared examples from Europe and Japan, with emphasis on water management and resilience.
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
Implementation focus
Aligned with the session, actions should progress across urban operations, public-space design, sustainable architecture, and governance/collaboration.
Priority actions
Integrate circular practices in public spaces: reduce single-use plastics and redesign collection/sorting flows in venues and civic facilities.
Introduce nature-based measures: rainwater use, greening and shading features, with clear maintenance rules.
Apply sustainable architecture more broadly: require both environmental performance and design quality in refurbishment/new builds; track user experience.
EU–Japan peer learning: set up city-to-city reviews with European Green Capitals and Japanese peers using shared assessment lenses (liveability, resilience, circular practice).
Make results visible: curate qualitative/quantitative indicators on water, resilience and circularity and share them regularly.
Conclusion
This anchors NEB values in a scalable portfolio of city projects and makes progress tangible for residents and partners.
Cast
Moderator
Jean-Eric Paquet
EU Ambassador to Japan
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Marcos Ros Sempere
Member of the European Parliament
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Speakers
Jessika Roswall
Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy, European Commission
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Margot Roose
Deputy Mayor of Tallinn, Estonia
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Takeharu Yamanaka
Mayor of Yokohama City
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Hideyuki Yokoyama
Mayor of Osaka City
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Shigeru Ban
Architect
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Albert Edman
Head of Development, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden
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The Future of Earth and Biodiversity Week
Green cities and better ways of living thorough sustainability and aesthetics - the New European Bauhaus
Cities are central to the green transition, serving as laboratories where environmental policies deliver tangible results for citizens.
This session, framed by the New European Bauhaus (NEB), will explore what makes a city truly green: circular economy practices, nature-based solutions, sustainable architecture, and adaptation to climate challenges. Commissioner Roswall’s portfolio areas—water management, resilience, and circular economy—will feature alongside inspiring examples from European Green Capitals and pioneering Japanese cities. The dialogue will address reducing single-use plastics, rethinking public spaces, and the interplay of local initiatives and national regulation. In its second part, the session will focus on the NEB as a movement linking sustainability, aesthetics, and inclusion, highlighting Europe–Japan collaboration in sustainable design and architecture.
-
2025.09.22[Mon]
13:30～15:00
(Venue Open 13:15)
- Pavilion
- * Programme times and content are subject to change. Any changes will be announced on this website and via the ticket booking system.
- * The schedule is subject to change depending on the organiser's circumstances.
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The Future of Earth and Biodiversity Week
