The Japanese Ministry of the Environment has been deploying a three-year program to promote mutually reinforcing virtuous cycles that improve both the environment and economy. Now underway are 10 model projects selected by the ministry on August 11, 2005, during the second year of the program. Each project skillfully combines software-type elements such as environmental studies with hardware-type elements such as equipment for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

The 10 projects include seven in large cities or districts and three in small towns, and were chosen on the basis of utilization of local characteristics, cooperation among various initiatives, use of subsidies for carbon dioxide emissions reductions, economic revitalization, and employment effects.

The seven large cities or districts are: Shiogama City in Miyagi prefecture; a seven-ward consortium in Tokyo (Minato and six other wards); Kawasaki City in Kanagawa prefecture; Toyama and Takaoka cities in Toyama prefecture; Hokuto City in Yamanashi prefecture and Bizen City in Okayama prefecture. The three small towns are: Wakkanai City in Hokkaido; Ajigasawa Town in Aomori prefecture and Tono City in Iwate prefecture.

The project now underway in the Tokyo area, for example, is called the "Cool-Roof Project." The seven Tokyo wards of Chiyoda, Chuo, Minato, Shinjuku, Taito, Shinagawa and Meguro are tackling the heat island effect by promoting the planting of rooftop gardens and the coating of roofs with highly reflective paints and measuring the physical and economic effects of these strategies.

http://www.env.go.jp/en/

Posted: 2006/05/03 10:30:20 PM
Japanese version

TAG Government , Local government , Other