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This furoshiki design is homage to Empress Jingu as the representation for the lost history of traditional Japanese women in Kobe.
Kobe is originally known by the name œwada Anchorage (Owada-no-tomari), earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingu in 201 A.D. Up until the Meiji period, Empress Jingu was considered to have been the 15th Japanese imperial ruler, according to the traditional order of succession. However, a re-evaluation of the extant historical records caused her name to be removed from that list; environmental issues might just be removed from present history after re-evaluation and jotted as merely lip service like her.
Traditional Japanese women paying lip service (an idiom meaning "minimal compliance only") to communicate the broader concern of the environment by coloring their lips in green. It is a gentle reminder that nominal actions have been done about the ecology of the environment till now. It is communicated across in a non-protesting silent manner with the etiquette and grace of traditional Japanese women; that talking alone is not enough to solve the issues but rather tangible actions implemented after the meeting.
I hope to see Japanese women in Kobe, Japan, wearing Midori No Kuchibeni (Green Lipsticks) during the period of the meeting.