Tobian Nielsen took part in “Japan-Europe Dialogue 2019, Pathway to Reducing Marine Plastic Pollution – Toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals”, representing STEPS and REINVENT, the two sister projects that address decarbonisation of plastics.

The event contained three parts:

- A plastic panel with scholars and practitioners, including the vice-minister for environment.

This public event filled in an auditorium of around 300 people.

- A workshop where scholars from Yokohama City University (Professor Masazumi Ao), University of Southampton (Dr Malcolm Hudson, Dr Pete Shaw), Solent University (Prof Anthony Gallagher), University of Latvia (Prof Raimonds Ernsteins) and Lund University (Tobias Nielse), as well as IGES think tank (Dr Yasuhiko Hotta) and UCLG ASPAC Indonesia (Dr. Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi), discussed their work on plastics, as well as potential for future collaboration. 

- Visits to a plastics recycling plant, incineration plant, and the Kawasaki Environmental Research Laboratory.