No.154 Exchange of opinions between the national and three local organizations

On November 15, the second exchange of opinions meeting was held in the Ministry of the Environment's ministerial conference room as a forum for national and local discussions on regional decarbonization.
　
Representing the Ministry of the Environment were Environment Minister Keiichiro Asao, Vice-Minister Hiroshi Nakata, Vice-Minister Fumiaki Kobayashi, Parliamentary Vice-Minister Kiyoshi Igarashi, as well as officials related to regional decarbonization.
　
Representing the local side were Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki, Deputy Director of the National Governors' Association's Headquarters for Decarbonization and Global Warming Countermeasures, and Iwate Prefecture Mayor Shigeo Suzuki, Vice Chairman of the National Association of Towns and Villages.
　
I had planned to attend as well, but since the date coincided with the Tama River Sanitation Association's regular assembly meeting, I was the only one who participated online.
　
On the day, the Minister, Vice-Minister and Parliamentary Vice-Minister greeting ( ) After receiving this, Mr. Omori, Regional Decarbonization Promotion Advisor, gave an overview of the future direction compiled by the "Study Group on the Future of Regional Decarbonization Policies," and each of the three local organizations was asked to make a statement.
　
I serve as chairman of the National Association of Mayors' Special Committee on Environmental Measures, and from that position I made the following five points.
　
1. Realizing decarbonization in the residential sector
　
The government's "Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures" sets reduction targets for each sector from fiscal 2013 levels for fiscal 2030. The targets are 38% for the industrial sector, 51% for commercial and other sectors, 35% for the transport sector, and 47% for the energy conversion sector, and efforts such as corporate efforts have been made in each sector.
　
Meanwhile, the household sector is at 66%, but it is not clear who will achieve this and how. In such cases, the responsibility is often shifted to local municipalities, with local government offices being the ones to deal with local issues, but municipalities do not have sufficient financial resources or authority.
　
We therefore called on the national government to clearly identify the responsible entity and the method, and asked that financial resources be increased so that each city can expand its own subsidy programs aimed at decarbonizing its citizens.
　
2. Expansion of grid connections for solar power generation
　
When installing solar panels, there is a long wait from the time of application for connection to sell electricity until the panel can start operating, and the electricity generated during that time can go to waste, so we asked to shorten the wait time.
　
3. Support for small local governments
　
Disparities are emerging between regions in decarbonization efforts. Small municipalities lack the human and financial resources to do so, so it is important for prefectures, regional financial institutions, and other relevant parties to work together and complement each other, he said.
　
4. Support for small and medium-sized enterprises
　
Similar to 3, we argued that prefectures should proactively show a willingness to support small and medium-sized enterprises, as it is difficult for them to resolve issues on their own.
　
5. Horizontal expansion of precedent cases of regional decarbonization and financial measures
　
The Ministry of the Environment aims to designate at least 100 pioneering regions for decarbonization by 2030 and to spread their best practices across the country, but it will not be easy to spread some of the pioneering cases to local governments across the country.
　
He stressed that it is also important to select menus that are tailored to the characteristics of each region, develop feasible standard packages, and provide technical and financial support for their implementation.
　
　
　
Measures to combat global warming have been positioned as an urgent and top priority issue, but it is still difficult to say that they have been fully adopted by the entire population.
　
Technological development through the top runner approach is important, but in order to advance the home life sector in particular, I believe it is important to raise awareness among individuals and to raise the level of efforts in local governments across the country, regardless of their size.
　
We will continue to exchange opinions with the national government, prefectures, and municipalities, and strive to make progress in decarbonization.