Japanese Urban Policies
to Tackle Climate Change
Feb 2008
Feb.
Akiyasu KURISHIMA
Director of Urban and Regional Policy Division
Urban and Regional Development Bureau
Mi i t off Land,Ministry
L d Infrastructure,I f t tTransport
Tt andd Tourism
T i(MLIT)

Greenhouse Gas Emission in JapanThe emission in FY2006 surpassed the 1990 reference by 6.4%,
Japan needs to cut emission by 7.0% to achieve the 6% reduction committed to in the Protocol.
(Hundred thousand tons CO2)

1.359 billion tons(+7.7%)(2.3%)

1.341 billion tons(+6.4%)
Need to reduceemission by 7.0%(3.1%)

1 300
1,300

Temporary effect
From decline in
the nuclear power
plant utilization rate
due to earthquake

1.261 billion tons

-0.6%
0.6%

1,200

Target to reduce:
3.8% through absorption by forests
1.6% through Kyoto Mechanism

-6%
6%

1,100

1,000
Reference emission(Based on 1990)

FY2005emission

FY2006emission

Kyoto Protocol Reduction
Pledge (2008-2012)１

CO2 Emission by Sector••

CO2 emitted in FY2006 stood at 1.295 billion tons. This is an increase of 13.3% from the FY1990 reference emission.
The industrial sector succeeded in cutting the emission while that of other sectors, namely, household, transport, etc. haveconsiderably risen compared to 1990.
500

482 million t

Emission in FY2006(compared to 1990)

Industry (factories(factories, etc)

450

Cutting target((comparedd tot FY1990)

455 m t(-5.6%)

400

435 m t(-9.8%)(Unit: Millionn t)

350

300

254 m t(+17.0%)Transport (vehicles, shipping, etc.)
250＊

217 m t

233 m t(+41.7%)

Other sectors (commercial/service/offices etc.)

200
164 m t150

85 t85mt

5068mt

165 mt(+0.4%)

×127mｔｔ127m

100

250 m t＊(+15.0%)

166mt(+30.4%)

Residential sector

137 mt×(＋7.5%)91 mt

Industrial p
process/Garbage
g incineration,, etc.

70 m t(－17.7%)○◆(+6 6%)(+6.6%)○◆

76 mt(+11.3%)

Energy conversion sectors (Power plants, etc.)

69 mt(+1.7%)

0
1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006 2007

2008

2009

2010

(Fiscal Year)(※)The target value in the target achievement plan may not reflect the correct comparison ratio
because the values prior to the August 30, 2006 report were used as the reference values.

２

MLIT Measures to tackle Climate Change Enhancement of the energy conservation measures forhouses and buildings Compulsory
Cnotification
foff energy conservation efforts
ff
 CASBEE, Tax incentives

 Low carbon urban design
 “Compact Cities”, Urban greening, Potential of sewage,
Area-wide
Area
wide energy use

 Promotion of public transportation
 LRT,, IC card tickets,, Bus location systemy Low carbon distribution system Modal shift, Efficient truck transport

 Improvement of the traffic flow
 ITS、Elevation of railroad ImprovementIoff theh fuelf l efficiency
ffi i
off automobiles
bil Top-runner standards, Tax incentives

３

Main reasons for urban GHG emission growth¾Gro ing dependence on cars
¾Growing¾Decrease of urban green¾Increase of energy consumption inhouses and commercial buildings

４Urban policies to reduce GHG emission

9Creating “Compact Cities”
9 Land use control in peri-urban area
9 Reintroduction of urban functions to cityy center
9 LRT, EST, BRT, Cycling roads

9Increasing urban green space
9R d i GHG emission
9Reducingi i bby seweragesystem Improvement
9Fostering area-widearea wide energy use５

Promote Public Transportations (Examples of Measures)
・ Build new railroads, etc.
○ New urban railways put inservice from FY2003 to FY2005
13 routes, 144 km.
Tsukuba Express(Opened(Opeed Augustugus 24,,2005)

・ Promote existing train and bus services○ Utilization of ＩＴ technology
・ICC train
i cardd tickets
i k havehbeenbintroduced
id d to 25
2 railway
ilcarriers and 30 bus carriers, as of April 2006

○ Promote LRT◇Toyama light rail(Total distance about 8ｋm)
(Opened April 29, 2006)◇LRT is under consideration in Utsunomiya◇
ycity, Sakai city, etc.

○Improve train-bus transfer convenience＜Toyama light rail route map＞

Transfer between the Hiroshima Electric Railroad thatconnects Miyajima housing complex and the Hatsukaichi
city, and “Sakura” bus has been made much simpler andconvenient.

○ Make public transportation moreconvenienti t forf use
・ Introduce bus location system
Already introduced to 4,683 routes nationwide(March 2005)

ＪＲ 北 陸 本 線

富山駅

・ Introduce non-step bus
Already 6,974 buses have been introduced
nationwide (March 2005)※Area of newly opened route６

Greening Sites and Rooftops of Buildings
With a view
itto mitigating
iti ti hheatt iislandl d andd
providing CO2 sinks in urban area, there is ag need for p
promotingg of ggreen spacesponstrongsites and rooftops of buildings.
- Promotion of Greening
g throughg Land-use Plan andTax Abatement
Municipal authorities may designate Greening Promotion Zones
greening
g of certain p
proportion
pof building
g site is required.
qin which g
Property tax is abated (by half for the initial five years) for green
spaces on sites and rooftops of buildings for business use indesignated urban areas including Greening Promotion Zones.

- Outcome

NAMBA PARKS (OSAKA: Oct. 2003)
4,800 m2 of greening(22% of the site(22,300 m2))

- 19 cases of tax abatement
abatement, which amount to 51 thousandsquare metres of green space in city centres. (2001 to 2006)- According to enquiries for contractors, 1.7 million square metresof green rooftops and walls were completed in Japanese cities
from 2000 to 2006.
７Exploiting Potential Energy of Sewage
Combined heat and power system

Reduction of GHG emission through theimprovement of sewerage system

SSewerage
ttreatmenttt
CNG bus

Sewage water

Biogas①Reduction of N2O emission
Raise temperature of incinerators③ Exploitation of potential energy
gy from sludge
g andExtract renewable energy
make use of thermal energy of sewage

Good Practiceact ceDigesterFeed pump②Efficient use of energy
Save electricity necessary for sewage
treatment

Treatedwatert

Decompressor

Compressor

Refinement and use of Sewage Biogas

Use of refined Sewage Biogas (produced in theprocess off sewage treatment)t tt) as fuelf l forf CNG(compressed natural gas) bus in the city of KOBE.
Reduce GHG emission bymeans of cutting fossil fuelconsumption.

Use of refined Sewage Biogas as fuel for CNG bus８(KOBE)