Local Policies for Climate Change in Japan

Abstract

Local climate change policy making in Japan started in the middle of the 1990s. The national government's Global Warming Law and the Kyoto Protocol Target Achievement Plan both include expectations that the 47 prefectural and 1,800 municipal governments will formulate and implement comprehensive, plan-based programs to address greenhouse gas emissions. This study examines national and local government climate change policies. Most local governments deal with disseminating information and educating citizens about climate change and energy efficiency. The most advanced local governments, such as Tokyo and Kyoto, have used local ordinances to claim competences in energy, traffic, and other policy areas in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The authors urge that a roadmap similar to the one they produced for Nagoya City to reduce its CO 2 emissions by 75% compared to 1990 levels by 2050 be adopted at the national level.