The 7th International Symposium on Human Survivability “Let’s Work Together Toward Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals” was held on 10 December 2018 at Kyoto University. The symposium aimed to bring together students and researchers with their latest academic research to facilitate a wider public discussion (Ikeda 2020a). Seven papers (Chabay 2020); (Shinwell 2020); (Ikeda 2020b); (Tokumaru 2020); (Nakamoto et al. 2020); (Nomura 2020); (Yoshikawa et al. 2020) have been published in the special issue: The 7th International Symposium on Human Survivability “Let’s Work Together Toward Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals”—Part I, Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Volume 17, Issue 1, January 2020. The following are brief summaries of the other four papers that were major outcomes of the symposium.

The article “Integrated spatial and energy planning: a means to reach sustainable development goals” (Stoeglehner 2020), authored by Gernot Stoeglehner, introduced the ideas and basic principles of integrated spatial and energy planning with the discussion of how this concept might help to reach an energy transition. Drawing on experience from Austria, the author pointed out that both energy efficiency and renewable energy potentials are determined by regional spatial contexts such as urban, suburban, or rural areas or small towns, and that taking them into consideration leads to more realistic energy strategies to support further sustainable development goals.

“Cost estimation for alternative aviation plans against potential radiation exposure associated with solar proton events for the airline industry” (Yamashiki et al. 2020), by Yosuke Yamashiki et al. described a systematic approach to evaluate loss caused by exposure to solar proton events from solar flares for the airline industry to provide alternative ways to minimize economic loss. The authors set a hypothetical airline shutdown scenario due to legal restrictions under a potential radiation dose and calculated the potential loss in direct and opportunity loss under the cancellation of flights. The results suggested that lower-altitude flights provide more safety and are more economical, considering the potential risk due to solar proton events.

The article “Work experience education in secondary schools in India: a women’s empowerment perspective” (Shioyama 2020), authored by Satsuki Shioyama, looked at secondary schools of India that aimed at reducing socio-economic disparities. Interviews with teachers and student questionnaires examining current teaching approaches and students’ acceptance of them were conducted in secondary schools in Maharashtra. The study indicated that enhanced self-esteem is a crucial element in women’s work-related education in India where development is based on a patriarchal system. However, the results also imply that WEE in its current form does not establish a sufficient level of self-esteem.

“Determining a path to a destination: pairing strategic frameworks with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to promote research and policy” (Singh 2020), by Gerald Singh proposed a new method that can determine a policy path to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals in the context of the strategic sustainable development framework and the transition management framework. The author discussed two examples of this kind of research: one where understanding SDG achievement in the context of global change allows for the identification of strategic policy directions, and the other where understanding policy priorities and SDG interlinkages can help determine how to structure institutions to manage and regulate activities to achieve the SDGs.