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Welcome to the SDGs in the News Podcast. This is Susan Yoshimura, Managing Editor of Japan 2 Earth,
coming to you from Tokyo. Today, we bring you another English article on Japan and the SDGs.
You can find the full text on our website. Just click the link in the episode notes. Have a listen.
Leading Japanese cities leave their mark on COP 27.
At a side event of COP 27 in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, the cities of Yokohama and Tokorozawa
shared their leading initiatives on transitioning to net-zero carbon.
At the 2022 Climate Change Conference, COP 27, currently underway in Egypt and other major
events for negotiating international treaties, government delegations play a central role.
But side events provide a platform for local governments, NGOs,
and other observer organizations outside the formal negotiations to leave their mark.
When it comes to global warming, cities often get a bad rap for their greenhouse gas emissions.
But in fact, urban areas around the world are leading in innovations aimed at carbon neutrality,
and Japan is no exception. On November 17, representatives from two pioneering Japanese
cities shared their experiences at a COP 27 side event. Held in the COP 27 Japan Pavilion
entitled Leading Actions Toward Zero Carbon Cities, the hybrid event was also live-streamed
on YouTube. Cities account for roughly 70 percent of global emissions, said Yoshihiro Mizutani,
Director for International Cooperation for Transition to Decarbonization and Sustainable
Infrastructure at the Ministry of the Environment, in his opening remarks.
Therefore, Japan is channeling efforts into helping cities reduce their carbon footprints.
Mizutani explained, Japan aims to designate more than 100 leading decarbonization areas by 2030
to trigger a decarbonization domino effect. The city of Tokorozawa is one of these promising
areas. Mayor Masato Fujimoto was in attendance at COP 27 and presented at the side event.
Fujimoto introduced Tokorozawa's urban planning policies that promote walking in its community
based renewable energy projects. I place the highest importance on reconnecting humans and
nature, and that leads to my main policy frameworks, achieving a decarbonized city
and creating a people-centered town, he noted. Yokohama, which participated in a similar event
at COP 26 in Scotland in 2021, was the other leading Japanese city at the podium.
Kazuaki Takahashi, Executive Director of Yokohama's Climate Change Policy Headquarters,
described the city's innovative projects and plans. He said, in Yokohama's Minato-Murai area,
we able to build a model of decarbonization in urban areas with public-private partnerships.
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Takahashi also stressed that carbon neutrality necessitated new lifestyles,
but that these could be attractive. Yokohama, home to 3.77 million people,
has recently launched a program designed to innovate attractive lifestyles.
The initiative aims to generate ideas about climate-friendly lifestyles involving all
aspects of citizens' lives from fashion and food to housing and leisure. Digital technologies are
to play a key role. Other cities presenting at the side event included Dublin, Ireland,
and Haiphong, Vietnam. Interestingly, Haiphong's initiatives involved a Japan-connection
cooperation with Kitakyushu City. Dung Nguyen Thi Bich, Deputy Director of the
Department of Foreign Affairs in Haiphong, attended the event virtually. She described
the many achievements of the Haiphong-Kitakyushu partnership. These include Kitakyushu's support
for formulation of Haiphong's low-carbon scenario and development of eco-industrial parks in the
city. The side event was co-organized by the Ministry of the Environment, Government of
Japan, MOEJ, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD, and the
Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, IGES. COP 27 is scheduled to wrap up on November 18.
That brings us to the end of today's article. If you enjoyed this story, do let us know. And
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Until next time, this is Susan Yoshimura of Japan to Earth, signing off.
