Message to COP21 from the Kyoto Protocol Hometown: Kyoto City’s Environmental Policies and International Environmental Collaboration Programmes for Vientiane Capital in Lao PDR and others

Kyoto – the birth place of the Kyoto Protocol.

Kyoto City is the former capital of Japan. The city has been promoting the conservation of historic and cultural properties, economic growth including the tourism industry, and advanced environmental protection measures. Kyoto City actively promotes its environmental policies through international cooperation programmes.

This event will introduce the environmental policies and international environmental cooperation programmes of Kyoto City. In addition, the progress of the Low-Carbon Historic City Programme in Vientiane through City-to-City Cooperation between Vientiane Capital (Lao PDR) and Kyoto City will be presented. This Low-Carbon Historic City Programme aims at developing a basic plan for a low-carbon historic city incorporating fundamental elements to mitigate GHG emissions in historic Vientiane. As a first step, appropriate solid waste management and waste-oriented biogas/biomass projects have been surveyed.

Message to COP21 from the Kyoto Protocol Hometown:
Kyoto City’s Environmental Policies and International Environmental Collaboration

Kyoto City, the city where the Kyoto Protocol of UNFCCC was adopted, has its own greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target, that is, 25% reduction by 2020 and 40% reduction by 2030 compared to 1990 emission level, and has revised the “Kyoto City Program of Global Warming Countermeasure <2011-2020> - For an environmentally city, economy and lifestyle –”. The revised programe illustrates 6 visions of a society, and shows concrete policies and measures.

Along the vision of a society “An enjoyable walking city that gives priority to people to people and public transport”, Kyoto City has formulated the charter for the promotion of attractive urban development where citizens enjoy, and has developed the integrated transport strategy. Based on the vision of a society “City of energy creation and community recycling”, Kyoto City has been promoting the energy saving activities and the widespread diffusion of the renewable energy development. In terms of the vision of a society “Garbage reduction”, the household waste emission per capita is the least in 20 big cities in Japan.

Furthermore, Kyoto City recognizes the importance of the international cooperation and city-to-city collaboration (through ICLEI and by other channels), because the role of city with the rapid demographic urbanization becomes more and more important particularly in the environmental aspect. Therefore, Kyoto City concluded the MoUs on partner city collaboration and on environmental cooperation with Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR. Under the commission of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, Kyoto City and Global Environment Centre Foundation (GEC) have conducted the Programme for the Establishment of Low-Carbon Historic City in Vientiane, based on City-to-City Cooperation between Vientiane Capital and Kyoto City. The Programme aims at the JCM project development in Vientiane Capital and the development of “Fundamental Plan for Low-Carbon Historic City Establishment”in Vientiane. In addition to Vientiane, Kyoto City has been established the collaboration with Xian (China), Varanasi (India) and others.

Kyoto City expressed the joint message (with Kyoto Prefecture and Kiko Network (NGO)), which states their oath to take stronger actions to tackle climate change based on the historical significance and the philosophy of Kyoto Protocol, and the request to reach the agreement in Paris at COP21, on 10 October 2015, 50 days before the COP21 began.

Dr. Junichi FUJINO, Senior Researcher of NIES (National Institute for Environmental Studies) Japan, introduced interesting activity that all 223 primary schools in Iskandar Malaysia has conducted unique Environmental Education program, Iskandar Malaysia Eco-Life Challenge Program during these 3 years (2013-2015) in collaboration with Kyoto City, KIKO Network (NGO), NIES and others, which was originally started as Eco-Life Challenge Program in Kyoto since 2005.

• Kyoto City, the city where the Kyoto Protocol of UNFCCC was adopted, has promoted the reduction of GHG emissions, through taking actions toward the realization of 6 visions of a society described in its newly revised “Kyoto City Program of Global Warming Countermeasure <2011-2020>”.
• The international cooperation and city-to-city collaboration, such as between Kyoto City and Vientiane Capital, Lao PDR, is important, because the role of city with the rapid demographic urbanization becomes more and more important particularly in the environmental aspect.
• It becomes much more important to implement best practices in Kyoto into other areas especially in Asia such as adoption of Kyoto Eco-Life Challenge Program in Iskandar Malaysia region.

Matsuura Takuya, General Manager, Global Environmental Policy Office, Environment Policy Bureau, City of Kyoto
Junichi Fujino, Senior Researcher, National Institute for Environmental Studies

• Presentation 1
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