Journal of Civil Engineering and Architecture 11 (2017) 979-992
doi: 10.17265/1934-7359/2017.11.001

D

DAVID

PUBLISHING

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator(LCT-I) System
Yuko Tanaka and Kazutomo Irie
Asia Pacific Energy Research Centre (APERC), The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan (IEEJ), Inui Bldg., Kachidoki 11F, 1-13-1
Kachidoki Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0054, Japan
Abstract: The APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) LCMT (Low-Carbon Model Town) project was initiated in 2011 as apart of APEC’s energy cooperation scheme in response to the rapid urbanization and growing fossil energy use in the developing
economies of the APEC region. The LCMT project has conducted feasibility studies and policy reviews for a case town eachyear and developed and refined the “Concept of Low-Carbon Town in the APEC region (Concept)”. The Concept is a guidebook
for city planners and developers who wish to implement low-carbon town design. In tandem with the Concept, the “APEC
Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System” has been developed since 2013. The LCT-I System is a self-assessment tool to assess
and monitor the progress of each low-carbon town development project in the APEC region. The first edition of the LCT-I System
Guideline and its evaluation sheet were published together with the final edition of the Concept in 2016. The LCMT project ismoving into the dissemination stage beginning in 2017 through the utilization of the LCT-I System. This paper explains the processof the development of the LCT-I System, provides a brief summary and discusses its expected role in the spread of low-carbon
towns.
Key words: Sustainable cities, low-carbon towns, indicator system.

1. Introduction
In recent years, the rapid increase in energy
consumption because of urbanization in thedeveloping economies 1 of the APEC (Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation) region has been a major
concern. The APEC region represents approximately
60% of the world’s primary energy demand [1] and as
many APEC economies depend on fossil energy,
growing energy consumption is not only a matter ofstable energy supply, but also an increasing risk forclimate change issues. Therefore, it is acute to takeaction at the town/city level in addition to economy
Corresponding author: Yuko Tanaka, researcher, APERC,
IEEJ;
researchfields:educationforsustainable
development, and low-carbon town development. E-mail:yuko.tanaka@aperc.ieej.or.jp.
Kazutomo Irie, general manager, APERC, IEEJ; research
fields: energy policy, energy law, and international
relations. E-mail: kazutomo.irie@aperc.ieej.or.jp.
1
APEC uses the term “economy” to describe members insteadof nation or country, to include economies such as Hong Kong
and Chinese Taipei which are separate economic entities.

level policies. In order to encourage the developmentof LCT (low-carbon towns), promotion of energy
efficient measures and installation of renewableenergy while taking into account the characteristics ofeach regions is necessary.
At the 9th APEC Energy Ministers Meeting held in
Fukui, Japan, in 2010, the ministers discussed
low-carbon paths to energy security and called for the
APEC EWG (Energy Working Group) to implement
the APEC LCMT (Low-Carbon Model Town) Projectto encourage development of LCT and share bestpractices. The APERC has been working as thesecretariat of the LCMT Project since 2011 and its
Phase 6 was completed in June 2017. The main
objective of the LCMT Project is CO2 emission
reduction in the APEC region. While local
government and municipal officials are increasinglyinterested in developing LCT, their priorities are often
alleviating urban problems, such as traffic congestion,
air/water pollution, waste management and recycling980

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) Systemused water. As such, these towns require some levelof technical assistance to systematically plan andrealize LCT development. This includes setting baseyears and quantitative low-carbon targets, adopting
low-carbon indicator sets, selecting the mostappropriate set of low-carbon measures considering
the characteristics of the intended town and evaluating
the effects of the low-carbon measures adopted. The
key activities from Phase 1 to Phase 6 were:(1) developing and refining the “Concept of the
Low-Carbon Town in the APEC region” (Concept);(2) an FS (feasibility study) of low-carbon
development for a selected case town; and(3) a policy review of low-carbon development
policy for the selected case town.
The First Edition of the Guideline and the
Evaluation Sheet of the APEC Low-Carbon Town
Indicator (LCT-I) System [2] were developed intandem with the Concept which was first published in
October 2011 and the latest version (sixth edition) [3]
was published together with the LCT-I System in
November 2016. This paper summarizes its
background and characteristics and examines the
expected role of the LCT-I System in disseminating
the LCT in the APEC region.2

2. LCMT Project
The Concept is a guidebook for city planners anddevelopers who wish to implement LCT design. It
aims to provide a basic idea of LCT and an effective
approach to its development so that it can assist
government officials in planning effective low-carbon
policies and formulating an appropriate combinationof low-carbon measures while taking socio-economic
conditions and city-specific characteristics into
consideration. Together with the experts nominatedfrom APEC member economies, APERC surveyed theeffective approaches and low-carbon technologies
implemented in the LCT development projects in the2This paper is a translated and edited version of a paper
published in Japanese in Development Engineering, Volume 23(2017).

APEC region including developed cities. As shown in
Fig. 1, the team visited several cities in each phaseand updated the Concept each year. The sixth edition[3] is the final for the time being and was published in
2016.
In addition, as shown in Fig. 2, one city/town was
selected as a case town for FS and policy review eachyear in accordance with the theme of each phase. The
FS aims at reviewing the CO2 emissions reduction
target and verifying how to develop attractive andinnovative

developmentplans

takingcosteffectiveness into consideration. The policy review
was conducted with the experts nominated by APEC
economies based on the FS report. The case town in
Phase 1 was Yujiapu Central Business District (CBD)
Development Project in Tianjin, China, with a focus
on greenfield development of a CBD of a large city.
Phase 2 was in Samui Island, Thailand, with a focus
on low-carbon development on an island resort, Phase
3 was in Da Nang, Viet Nam, with a focus on
redevelopment of an existing city, Phase 4 was in San
Borja, Lima, Peru, with a focus on a residential area ina city, Phase 5 was in Bitung City, Indonesia, with afocus on an industrial area in a city and Phase 6 was in
Mandaue City, the Philippines, with a focus on
low-carbon development plans in cooperation withneighboring cities. Phase 7 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, isunderway with a focus on low-carbon development ininland region with high demand for heating andcooling.
Through these activities, it was found that there aremany low-carbon approaches being taken in the
APEC region and the low-carbon development plans
and measures implemented are diverse. It indicatesthat appropriate evaluation and monitoring from theprimary stage of the LCT development planningconsidering the characteristics of each town isnecessary for the efficient dissemination of LCT.
Therefore, the LCMT Project began working on thedevelopment of the LCT-I System since 2013. InDevelopment of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

Fig. 1

Cities surveyed for the Concept.

Fig. 2

Case towns of FS and policy review.

cooperation with the case towns of FS and policy
review, low-carbon measures and lessons learnt in theprocess of developing the Concept were reconsidered
and included in the LCT-I System.

easilyconduct

periodic

assessment

981

in

every

development stage from planning to maintenance inconsideration of various scales, characteristics of LCTdevelopment projects in each economy. From theabove perspective, we surveyed the trends of city

3. Background of the Development of the
LCT-I System

indicators already developed in the world and tried to

The LCT-I System is not designed for comparison

system. Through the preliminary survey, it was foundwith other cities/towns, but as a self-assessment toolthat the existing indicators are very complicated andfor monitoring the progress of each LCT development

designed to evaluate cities in advanced economies

project. It aims at assisting governmental agencies towhere sufficient data are available. Therefore, theincorporate the indicators in existing city assessment

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System982

existing indicators do not fit the cities in developing
APEC economies as many of their LCT are still in the
primary stage and they do not have the data necessaryfor evaluation in many cases [4]. On the other hand,
we also found that the CASBEE (Comprehensive
Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency),
anexisting

city

assessment

indicator

systemdeveloped by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure,
Transport and Tourism of Japan, has some indicatorsthat can be adopted to the LCT-I System [4]. In Phase4, a prototype of categorization of town types,
evaluation method and assessment framework was
designed; then sensitivity analysis was conducted in
six cities [4]. In Phase 5, the assessment area and eachindicator were reviewed and examined. Furthermore,
APEC’s liaison officer has attended the meetings ofthe International Organization for Standardization(ISO)/Technical Committee on Sustainable Cities and4. Summary of the LCT-I System
4.1 Characteristics of the LCT-I System
Many developing economies in APEC do not havesufficient data, so the LCT-I System was designed to
be as simple as possible. The indicators are intuitiveand easy-to-understand. Users can utilize existingstatistical data where possible and the number ofindicator was kept to a minimum. Most of theindicators are qualitative rather than quantitative. The
LCT-I System identifies the strength and weakness ofa town’s low-carbon development. As it is aself-assessment tool, users can evaluate theircities/towns based on their characteristics anddevelopment plans. The LCT-I System classifies thecharacteristics of towns into four types including three
types for urban areas: central business district (CBD);
commercially and industrially oriented town;

presented to the APEC LCMT Task Force Meeting

residentially oriented town; and one for a rural area
(village and island). The evaluation of the indicatorfor “Town Structure” is based on the classification
below in Fig. 3.

and LCMT Workshop. The previous LCMT case

4.2 Assessment Area of the LCT-I System

Communities (TC268) since February 2015 to keep
the LCT-I System relevant to global standards
developed by ISO [5]. In Phase 6, the final draft wastowns were asked to evaluate their progress since theproject implementation using the LCT-I System.
Based on the discussions and feedback received in the
LCMT Workshop, the First Edition of the LCT-I
System Guideline and its evaluation sheet werereleased in November 2016.

Fig. 3Characteristics of town.

As the low-carbon measures addressed in theConcept were originally designed from the energy
perspective, the assessment area of the LCT-I System
is first categorized into two main categories: measures“directly related” to energy usage; and measures“indirectly related” to energy usage. The assessment

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

Fig. 4983

Assessment area of the LCT-I System.

targets are comprised of five major items (Tier I), 14
mid-level items (Tier II), and 36 lower-level items(Tier III). In directly related measures, low-carbon
measures concerning “Demand”, “Supply” and both
“Demand & Supply” were included as Tier I items. In
indirectly related low-carbon measures, aspects ofenvironment and resources, and governance were
included. These are not directly related to energy
usage, but they are very important elements in LCTdevelopment. In some indicators, evaluation standards
in existing assessment indicators, such as CASBEE
and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental
Design), are referenced and included.
4.3 Scoring Criteria and Assessment Method
The LCT-I System applies a five-point scale forscoring each Tier III item. In the evaluation sheet(spread sheet file), users can choose either, ★, ★★,★★★, ★★★★, or ★★★★★ based on the
explanation for each Tier III item. Depending on the
Tier III item, such as “town structure”, “life cycle
management”, etc., a three-point scale or a four-point
scale may also be applied. In principle, ★★★ will begiven as the standard rating where low-carbon plans,
systems or criteria of each Tier III item are already inplace while no stars will be given if no efforts havebeen made or the numerical value cannot be measured.
Regarding the quantitative assessment area, theachievement level can be evaluated in reference to thestandards of each economy, international standards,
etc.
Local and central governments are the expected
users of the LCT-I System. The evaluation results of
the LCT-System are easily reflected in concrete
actions such as development of a road map,
establishment of a special unit, prioritization of
measures, budget planning, etc. As shown in Fig. 5,
the self-assessment results will appear as “overallrank,” “radar chart” and “individual assessment,”
which will help identify the achievement level of the
LCT development project and assessment items to be
improved for the realization of LCT.
4.4 Ideas of Tier III Items and Its Evaluation
The background of each Tier III item, brief
explanation of each low-carbon measure and its

984

Fig. 5Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

Image of evaluation result.

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) Systemevaluation method will be provided in this section.
4.4.1 Town Structure
The amount of CO2 emissions in cities has been
increasing because of chronic traffic congestion
caused by unplanned urban development. Urban
sprawl is an issue that increases maintenance costs ofpublic infrastructure, such as road/water supply andsewage [6]. Therefore, establishment of a town
structure that minimizes the necessity of transfer itself
and guidance for TOD (Transit Oriented Development)
are needed. Concentration of urban functions andreducing car-dependency will contribute to theimprovement of town quality, including punctuality,
comfort and control of CO2 emissions.
Low-carbon measures for town structure include
shortening of transit distance and time by locating
residential areas adjacent to work areas, promotion ofeffective land use (utilization of maximum floor-arearatio), multiple land use (concentration of functions ofresidence, business, commerce, medical care, etc.), as
well as development and land use considering traffic
hubs such as railroad stations and bus stations.
The indicator for “adjacent workplace andresidence” assesses the ratio of residential use or
non-residential use to the total floor area of the entire
building. As the characteristics of CBD,
commercial/industrial areas, residential areas and rural
areas differ in land-use planning, the ratio of
residential use to the total floor area of all buildings is
assessed in CBD and commercial/industrial areas,
while the ratio of non-residential use to the total floorarea of all buildings is assessed for residential areas
and rural areas. In order to assess the concentration ofurban functions, the ratio of area used to the standard
floor area ratio specified by the land use plan, andpresence or absence of multiple use planning is asked.
In addition, presence or absence of upper-level plans
which promote transit oriented town development isassessed.
4.4.2 Buildings
Energy demand from the consumer sectors

985(household and business) exceeds 30% of worldenergy demand and more than half of the energy
consumption is for air conditioners/heaters and hot
water supply [7]. Thus, consideration of reducing
energy consumption for both the building itself and its
equipment is important. Not only new buildings but
also existing buildings should be taken into
consideration when renovated and repaired. In some
APEC economies, certification systems and guidelines
for low-carbon buildings have been developing. For
example, the USGBC (United States Green Building
Council) established LEED, which is one of the mostinternationally recognized certification systems. The
application for certification of LEED is increasing all
around world. The assessment of LEED is acomprehensive rating system that assesses abuilding’s environmental performance from various
perspectives such as efficient use of energy, water,materials and other resources with consideration toindoorenvironmental
quality,
impactonneighborhood environment, etc. In Japan, CASBEE,
which was developed with support by the Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, is widely
acknowledged and used.
Hardware countermeasures include use of heatinsulation, energy saving equipment and naturalenergy in order to reduce buildings’ energy
consumption for air conditioners and heaters.
Utilization of natural energy refers to the direct use of
daylight, natural ventilation, etc., for air conditioning
and lightning as well as to create a comfortable indoor
environment without using electricity. These arearchitectural methods called as passive design (Fig. 6).
Software countermeasures include preparation of acertification system and guidelines to standardize
energy-saving buildings.
The LCT-I System asks the presence or absence ofsystems or standards to evaluate the thermal
performance and energy-saving performance ofbuildings. Furthermore, the presence or absence ofsystems or standards to promote the natural energy

986

Fig. 6Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

Natural ventilation using the staircases, Sagamihara Campus, Aoyama Gakuin University.

use such as subsidies and incentive schemes or legallybinding regulations, as well as the formulation of thecertification system and green building guidelines forthe dissemination of low-carbon construction isassessed.
4.4.3 Transportation
The transport sector accounted for 26% of APEC
total energy demand in 2013 [1]. The CO2 emissions
per passenger-km show that private automobiles emit
9 times the amount of CO2, while buses emit 2.7 times
compared with railway transportation [8]. In recent
years, the ratio of private vehicle ownership in APEC
developing economies has rapidly increased andchronic traffic congestion has been a serious problem.
Therefore, promotion of public transportation, control
of
the
use
of
privatevehiclesandutilization of low-carbon transportation are highly
encouraged.
Transportation consists of combinations of varioustransportation methods. In order to promote theconvenience of public transportation, it is necessary todevelop transport hubs. Implementation ofcomprehensive transportation measures including
car-sharing, park and ride (P&R), massive
transportation systems such as BRT (bus rapid transit),and LRT (light rail transit), and promotion of
low-carbon vehicles are effective. In addition,
implementation of TOD (transportation demand

management), development of highways andinterchanges for controlling the traffic congestion andsmoothening the traffic flow, as well as promotion of
eco driving are other possible measures.
First, the coverage ratio of the areas within walking
distance from the train stations and bus stops to thetarget area is asked to assess if the public
transportation system is easy-to-use (Fig. 7). Next, thecurrent situation in the implementation ofcomprehensive transportation measures such as
car-sharing, rental bicycle system, provision of
bicycle lanes, etc., is assessed. Furthermore, indicators
for the implementation of TDM for the reduction of
traffic congestion, the presence or absence of a road
improvement plan and an incentive scheme for thepromotion of low-carbon vehicles, as well as
introduction of eco driving are included.
4.4.4 Area Energy System
DHC (District Heating and Cooling) system is amethod to supply cooling water, steam or hot water tomultiple buildings with a centralized system. As the
supply system is integrated in one location, energy isutilized efficiently and energy-saving is enhanced.
Moreover, since space for individual air
conditioning/heating system is not required in eachbuilding, effective use of spaces such as basement androoftop is possible.
In the LCT-I System, the presence or absence of anDevelopment of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

Fig. 7

987

Walking distance from stations and bus stops.

implementation plan of area energy systems such as
DHC, as well as the ratio of energy consumption forannual air conditioning/heating covered by area
energy systems is assessed.
4.4.5 Untapped Energy
Untapped energy refers to sources that have notbeen used in the past, such as: heat from the sea, riverand sewage water; exhaust heat from factories,
subway and underground shopping area; etc.
Utilization of these untapped energy can save energy
and reduce the use of fossil fuels as well as CO2
emissions. However, sources of untapped energy arewidely scattered and sometimes located far away fromthe demand site. Thus, cost effectiveness often
remains as an issue. Heat pump systems arerecommended as an efficient technology.
The presence or absence of an introduction plan of
untapped energy as well as the ratio of annual energy
consumption covered by untapped energy is assessed.
4.4.6 Renewable Energy
Renewable energy largely contributes to a reduction
in CO2 emissions and it can be repeatedly used withless resource depletion unlike fossil fuels. Renewable
power generation can reduce CO2 emissions
throughout its life cycle from the construction to
demolition of the power generation facilities

compared with that of the fossil fuels [9].
The presence or absence of the introduction plan ofrenewable energy use such as sunlight/solar heat, wind
power, hydro power, geothermal power, biomass, etc.
as well as the ratio of annual energy consumption
covered by renewable energy is assessed.
4.4.7 Multi-energy System
As a result of progressive urbanization globally,
extensive natural disasters have been escalating therisk of urban management and the constraints of theenergy supply system as well as the vulnerability ofcentralized energy systems have become apparent. At
the same time, with the expanded introduction ofrenewable energy, securing the quality of electricity
such as voltage and frequency, is becoming a major
issue [10]. In response to such situations, it has
become more necessary to disperse the risk of energy
supply and reduce CO2 emissions by combination andoptimal utilization of a variety of energy sources likerenewableenergy,distributed
energyandcogenerationinconsiderationofregional
characteristics. Distributed energy is a relative concept
formulated in contrast with the conventionallarge-scale, centralized energy. It refers to CHP(combined heat and power), cogeneration, etc., that is
distributed to many different regions on a relatively

988

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) Systemsmall-scale.
The benefits of distributed energy include ensuring
energy supply in emergency situations while reducing
costs and environmental impact through efficient useof energy. In addition, distributed energy has somepossible positive side effects such as vitalization of
the regional economies, promotion of demand-side
participation and reduction of load to the electricity
grid. CHP and cogeneration are power generation
systems that use fuels such as natural gas, oil and LP
gas and generate electricity with engines, turbines andfuel cells, etc., while recovering the exhaust heatsimultaneously. The recovered exhaust heat can beused as steam or hot water for air conditioning andhot-water supply, allowing for a more efficient use ofheat and electricity. These methods are expected toachieve a high overall energy efficiency of up to 75%
to 80% of the fuel’s original energy [11]. The
introduction of CHP and cogeneration can reduce thetotal consumption of primary energy by reducing theamount of electricity supplied from the grid system
while utilizing exhaust heat for heating and hot-watersupply.
The LCT-I System assesses the presence or absenceof an introduction plan for CHP and cogeneration.
4.4.8 Energy Management System
An EMS (Energy Management System) can
visualize the individual energy consumption of eachbuilding such as office buildings and houses as well as
the collective energy consumption of buildings in an
entire area. EMS enables optimal and efficient use ofenergy through equipment control. Depending on thetype of the targeted buildings/area, there are different
forms of EMS such as: BEMS (Building Energy
Management System); HEMS (Home Energy
Management System); FEMS (Factory Energy
Management System); and AEMS (Area Energy
Management System), etc. Introduction of AEMS canmonitor, analyze and control area-wide energy use inmultiple buildings such as offices, shops, houses, etc.
It can also support efficient power generation andstorage. In addition, installation of a smart grid system
which uses ICT (information and communication
technology) can control the energy supply anddemand simultaneously and achieve an efficient use ofenergy. At the same time, it can also help stabilize
energy supply utilizing renewable energy sources suchas solar and wind power. Another effective approachis installation of a micro-grid, which supplies
electricity from multiple small-scale distributed
electricity sources such as solar, wind and biomass
power generation and electricity storage system in thesame area. Although this integrated network can be
operated independently from the central grid, it could
be operated in connection with the central grid orother micro-grids. A micro-grid should be designed,
established and controlled based on the needs of theusers.
The LCT-I System first assesses the presence orabsence of an introduction plan for EMS and AEMS,
then also assesses the presence or absence of an
introduction plan for smart grid and micro-grid.
4.4.9 GreeneryGreenery is an effective way to create an
eco-friendly urban environment. It absorbs CO2 andmitigates the heat island phenomenon. The effects ofevapotranspiration of plants can cool the surrounding
temperature, so greenery on the ground, rooftops andwall surfaces of buildings is effective. Making spacefor green shade (shadows created by trees) contributes
to wind paths and cool-spots. It is also important toconserve existing green spaces and surrounding
nature.
In the LCT-I System, the ratio of green shade area
to the total assessment target area, the ratio ofgreenery area including water surface to the total
assessment target area, efforts of greening andecosystem conservation of the entire assessment target
area are assessed.
4.4.10 Water Management
In many cities of developing economies, because of
rapid population growth and increased economic

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

activities, the amount of wastewater from daily lifeand factories has been increasing, but the developmentof the wastewater treatment system has not kept up
with the demand. It is difficult for a city to ensurebudget and land for treatment facilities andmaintenance cost of the treatment facilities is also afinancial burden.
First, it is important to reduce the volume of water
usage and recycle wastewater regardless of whether it
is from household or business activities. For facilities
with a certain scale, a centralized drainage reusesystem can reduce the energy cost of treating andrecycling the wastewater. The recycled water can beused for flushing the toilet and other purposes.
Establishing a system for using rainwater is also
helpful.
The LCT-I System assesses the presence or absenceof efforts in water usage reduction, utilization of
rainwater and recycled wastewater.
4.4.11 Waste Management
Regulations on waste separation, recycling andvolume of waste have not been established in many
cities [12]. Landfills are often the most common way
to dispose of solid waste in developing economies andopen dumping causes spread of bad odor and methanegas (CH4). CH4 is considered to have approximately
25 times the effect on the global warming as that of
CO2 [13]. For the effective use of energy and limited
resources of the earth, efforts to incorporate 3Rs(reduce, reuse and recycle) are important.
Indicators in the LCT-I System ask the presence orabsence of waste reduction goals and efforts being
made in waste separation.
4.4.12 Pollution
Typical environmental pollutions resulting from theurban lifestyle are becoming serious problems, such as
air pollution caused by automobile exhaust, waterpollution caused by domestic wastewater, and soil
contamination caused by improper processing ofhousehold and business waste. In some of thedeveloping economies, some factories are located in989

urban areas. Thus, there is a combination ofurban-type and industry-type environmental pollution[14].
Efforts to prevent pollution start from setting
reduction targets for pollutants and emission standards
for each kind of pollutant. Periodic monitoring of
released pollutants, publishing the monitoring results
and creating programs to protect the health of citizens
are also important. In addition, ensuring humanresources such as government officials and specialists
for pollution prevention measures and training for thestaff are highly encouraged. If pollution is notprevented at an early stage, the energy, time and costs
to recover human health and environment will besignificantly larger than the prevention measures. In
recent years, environmental pollution effects fromneighboring economies are also becoming a problem.
The importance of a shared awareness and taking
appropriate joint measures for pollution prevention isincreasing more than ever.
The LCT-I System assesses the current prevention
measures implemented for the air pollution, waterpollution and soil pollution.
4.4.13 Policy Framework
For the establishment of sustainable low-carbon
society, the government’s strong initiatives are
essential in addition to the technologies and efforts ofthe private sector. For the LCT development,
government must make policies, create a project planand secure a budget. For sustainable development,
they also need to develop disaster response andpromotedevelopment
without
environmental
degradation. Preparation of a LCP (life continuityplan)/BCP (business continuity plan) can help quick
recovery from an emergency situation caused bydisasters and continue daily life and business activities.
The regulations for protecting the geographic featuresand preventing landform transformation are the basis
for the development with low-impact on the naturalenvironment.
The LCT-I System assesses the presence or absence

990

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) Systemof policies, plans, goals and budget secured for LCT
development. Efforts toward sustainability are also
assessed by the presence or absence of LCP/BCP,
disaster prevention and response measures.
4.4.14 Education and Management
It is important to conduct educational activities sothat each citizen of the town can be aware of theimportance of low-carbonization and foster a better
understanding of the LCT development. In advanced
LCT, various stakeholders in the community are
engaged in low-carbon activities individually or work
together for the LCT development. We can contributeto the low-carbonization from small changes in daily
behavior such as turning off an unnecessary light,
setting air conditioner and heater at proper
temperatures, and stopping littering, etc. If theemployers of commercial drivers provide instructionin eco driving, not only prevention of air pollution,
but also benefits for their business management are
expected as it can reduce traffic accidents andimprove fuel efficiency. Therefore, approaches tovarious stakeholders including the government,
developers, residents, companies, educational
institutions are effective. In addition to thegovernment and developers, community associations
and area management organizations can also takeleadership in developing community activities. There
are many successful cases in involving the residents
from the early stage of planning the LCT development
and making progress in an effective and coordinatedmanner. It is ideal when local community associations
share information with each other while expanding
and strengthening their network and maintainsustainable activities. Through these low-carbon
activities, the town’s attractiveness and problem
solving ability can also be improved. In doing so,
accelerated dissemination of LCT both domesticallyand abroad is expected.
The LCT-I System assesses the presence or absenceof enlightenment activities and environment education(environment studies, eco driving, etc.) as well as

establishment and operation of community
associations and area management organizations.
4.4.15 Calculation of CO2 Emissions
The LCT-I System encourages users to calculate theCO2 emissions of the assessment target area as a partof the actions for the low-carbonization. The methodsof CO2 emissions calculation are up to each economy.
For economies that do not have their own standard for
calculation, the 2006 IPCC (Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change) Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories [15] and ISO14064 [16]are shown as references. An example of CO2
emissions calculation using a simplified method in the
Handbook of Low-Carbon Town Planning and
Implementation [17] developed by the Japanese
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism is also shown in the guideline of the LCT-I
System. As the LCT-I System is a self-assessment
tool, calculation of their CO2 emissions on a regularbasis in order to understand the CO2 emission sources
and control the CO2 emissions reduction isrecommended.

5. Conclusion and Future Plan
The LCT-I System can assess the progress of LCTdevelopment in various stages as it includes indicatorsthat assess the presence or absence of the basic
standard which is necessary for the primary stage of
the LCT development planning as well as theindicators that assess the presence or absence ofsubsidy system which is important in the maintenanceand operation stage of the LCT. The periodic
monitoring by the governmental agencies visualizes
the progress of the LCT development and makes it
easy for the government officials to see what is thenext step for them. The efforts can also be an
advertising tool that attracts foreign developers,
investors and companies, etc. In addition, theSecretariat is exploring the possibility of working
together with financial institutions, for example,
prioritization of the users of the LCT-I System when

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) Systemthey apply for low-interest loans and other support
schemes of the financial institutions.
The LCT-I System was developed in cooperation
with the government officials, consultants, developers,
experts in the APEC region, but the first edition stillneeds to be examined whether the standard value isappropriate and how variation of subjective evaluation
results can be prevented. The LCT-I System needs tobe improved through collecting feedback andevaluation samples as a reference as well as reviewing
those self-evaluation results.
Currently, Phase 7 is underway and the first LCMT
Symposium was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in
September 2017 as a new activity of the project.
Banda Aceh City in Indonesia, Hang Tuah Jaya Cityand Shah Alam City in Malaysia were selected as the
LCT-I volunteer towns for Phase 7 and theirself-evaluation results were presented by the
representatives and reviewed by the experts during the
LCMT Symposium. In preparation for the LCMT
Symposium, the selected LCT-I volunteer towns’
levels of understanding of each indicator in the LCT-I
System, evidence that proves the self-evaluation
results, and the current level of policy implementation
were reviewed. The process is helpful for collecting
the appropriate application examples of the LCT-I
System and enhancing the capacity building of thedeveloping economies. From 2018, the LCMT Project
Dissemination Phase 1 will be started. The second
LCMT Symposium is planned in Da Nang, Viet Nam,in September 2018. The LCMT Project will continue
to foster an awareness of the need of LCTdevelopment in the APEC region.

References
[1]

[2]

APEC Energy Working Group. 2016a. APEC Energy
Demand and Supply Outlook. 6th Edition. Volume I.
Accessed
February27,
2018.
http://publications.apec.org/publication-detail.php?pub_id=1735.
APEC Energy Working Group. 2016c. APEC
Low-Carbon Town Indicator System Guideline. First
Edition.
Accessed
February
27,
2018.

991

http://publications.apec.org/publication-detail.php?pub_id=1797.
[3] APEC Energy Working Group. 2016b. The Concept of
the Low-Carbon Town in the APEC Region. Sixth Edition.
Executive Summary. Accessed February 27, 2018.
https://www.apec.org/Publications/2016/12/The-Conceptof-the-LowCarbon-Town-in-the-APEC-Region-Sixth-Edi
tion.
[4] APEC Energy Working Group. 2014a. The Concept of
Low-Carbon Town in the APEC Region. Fourth Edition.
Appendix
4.
Accessed
February27,
2018.
http://publications.apec.org/publication-detail.php?pub_id=1692.
[5] APEC Energy Working Group. 2014b. APEC’s Liaison
with International Organization for Standardization in
the Area of City Indicator Standardization Activities.
Accessed
February27,
2018.
http://mddb.apec.org/Documents/2014/EWG/EWG48/14_ewg48_019.pdf.
[6] UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlements
Programme). 2016. World Cities Report 2016. Accessed
February 27, 2018. http://wcr.unhabitat.org/main-report/.
[7] METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan).
2014. Annual Report on Energy FY2014. Accessed
February 27, 2018. http://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/about/whitepaper/2015pdf/.
[8] MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport andTourism, Japan). 2007. White Paper on Land,
Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Japan FY2007.
Accessed February 27, 2018. http://www.mlit.go.jp/
hakusyo/mlit/hakusho/h20/.
[9] CRIEPI (Central Research Institute of Electric Power
Industry). 2016. Comprehensive Assessment of Life Cycle
CO2 Emissions from Power Generation Technologies inJapan. available Accessed February 27, 2018.
http://criepi.denken.or.jp/jp/kenkikaku/report/detail/Y06.
html.
[10] METI. 2015. Distributed Energy. Accessed February 27,
2018. http://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/committee/council/
basic_policy_subcommittee/mitoshi/006/pdf/006_05.pdf.
[11] METI. 2012. References of Combined Heat and Power
Promotion Office. Accessed February 27, 2018.
http://www.enecho.meti.go.jp/category/electricity_and_g
as/other/cogeneration/pdf/1-1.pdf.
[12] UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). 2010.
Waste and Climate Change. Accessed February 27, 2018.
http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/Publications/spc/Waste&Clim
ateChange/Waste&ClimateChange.pdf.
[13] IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).
2007. IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. Accessed
February 27, 2018. http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_
and_data/publications_ipcc_fourth_assessment_report_sy992

Development of APEC Low-Carbon Town Indicator (LCT-I) System

nthesis_report.htm.
[14] Ministry of Environment. 1991. Environmental White
Paper FY1991. Accessed February 27, 2018.
http://warp.da.ndl.go.jp/info:ndljp/pid/3193736/www.env.go.jp/policy/hakusyo/hakusyo.php3?kid=203.
[15] IPCC. 2006. 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories. 5 Volumes. Accessed
February 27, 2018. http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/
public/index.html.

[16] ISO (International Organization for Standardization).
2006. ISO 14064-1:2006 Greenhouse Gases—Part 1:
Specification with Guidance at the Organization Level for
Quantification and Reporting of Greenhouse Gas
Emissions and Removals. Accessed February 27, 2018.
https://www.iso.org/standard/38381.html.
[17] MLIT. 2013. References of Handbook of Low-Carbon
Town Planning and Implementation. Accessed February
27, 2018. https://www.mlit.go.jp/common/001023245.pdf.