Environment The Arrow of Regulation Begins in the Capital - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Policy on Mandatory CO2 Reduction 2002

Environment The Arrow of Regulation Begins in the Capital - Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Policy on Mandatory CO2 Reduction 2002

In 2002, Japan was preparing to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, and policies to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions were required. In Tokyo in particular, the increase in CO2 emissions from the business sector (office buildings and commercial facilities) was more pronounced than in the industrial sector, and there was an urgent need to curb urban emissions. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government therefore adopted a groundbreaking policy for a municipality, imposing CO2 reduction obligations on large business establishments.

At the time, Japan's environmental policy relied on "mandatory efforts" based on the Energy Conservation Law and the Law Concerning the Rational Use of Energy. However, this was not enough to stop the increase in emissions, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government sought to switch to a "binding system. This was the first move by a local government in Japan to introduce its own emissions regulations, and was a progressive attempt to anticipate national policies.

In designing the system, the direction of requiring business establishments above a certain size in terms of annual energy consumption and total floor space to report their emissions performance and submit a reduction plan was considered. Furthermore, it was envisioned that the system would mandatorily encourage the installation of energy-efficient equipment, strengthening of building insulation, high-efficiency air conditioning systems, and other measures, with a view to strengthening regulations, including penalties for noncompliance.

The background to this was the period in which, despite the economic stagnation that followed the bursting of the bubble economy, the rush to build new urban offices and commercial facilities continued, and energy consumption expanded. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government's policy was a wake-up call to such "urban emissions" and marked the beginning of an era in which cities would take the initiative in addressing global warming.

This effort culminated in the "Tokyo Metropolitan Cap-and-Trade Program" (enacted in 2010), which set a precedent for emission controls at the municipal level and greatly influenced the direction of Japan's climate policy.