On Sept 8^th, the 2026 ‘Climate x’ Leadership Training Program, hosted by the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate, successfully held the third live session, focusing on Global Climate Governance.

The global climate continues to warm, with the risk of exceeding the climate target temperature of 1.5 increasingly likely. This exceedance, and possible return later, is called (temporary) overshoot in the climate change mitigation literature. This session discusses the science and governance challenges of (temporary) overshoot, the projected net-negative emissions after net zero, and the role of carbon dioxide removal (CDR). 

Masahiro (Masa) Sugiyama is a Professor at the Institute for Future Initiatives (IFI), the University of Tokyo (UTokyo). He is an expert on long-term climate policy. With recent research projects include scenario analysis of climate and energy policy and governance of climate engineering from the public engagement perspective. He is a coordinating lead author of the Working Group III's contribution to the Seventh Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and also a member of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) Working Group 41 Ocean Interventions for Climate Change Mitigation.

During the lecture, Professor Masa noted that existing policy trajectories are highly likely to exceed the 1.5 °C warming target, leading to the “Limiting Overshoot” situation. He stressed that reaching climate goals requires both substantial global emission reductions and large‑scale deployment of CDR technologies. He outlined key CDR approaches such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), direct air carbon capture and storage (DACCS), enhanced weathering etc. He pointed out that annual novel CDR capacity needs to scale up from the current 2 megatons to 3500 megatons of CO₂ by 2050, calling for responsible innovation to overcome technical and practical barriers for climate mitigation.

The 2026 Climate x Leadership Training Program, hosted by the Global Alliance of Universities on Climate (GAUC), and strategically supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and GAUC's global partners, aims to empower youth with the knowledge, skills, and tools to become the climate leaders of tomorrow. The program inspires participants to envision a sustainable future, take meaningful action, and unlock their potential as leaders for a carbon-neutral future.

The second lecture of Global Climate Governance week will take place on September 10th, led by Prof. Howard from the Australian National University, on the effectiveness of global climate governance.

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