Tokyo’s low-emission development strategies underlying the promotion of energy efficiency in public and private buildings

Metropolitan cities are the cornerstones of economic development. They are showcases of technological advancement and are comprised of social infrastructures which accommodate dense populations. Nonetheless, as centers of production and consumption, they are also responsible for approximately 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In this regard, Tokyo Metropolis, the world’s most populous metropolitan area and the world’s largest urban agglomeration economy, has a significant role to play as a leader of sustainable technology and services, and could act as an inspiration for other world centers. Despite directing copious amounts of investments toward the conformation of environmental regulations, however, Tokyo faces the challenge of balancing economic competitivity and socio-environmental sustainability. In order to assess the most successful greenhouse gas reduction opportunities that are present in the context of Tokyo, this chapter has reviewed the projects and environmental policies that have been initiated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government since 2000. In essence, this chapter scrutinized the “Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Security Ordinance”; “Tokyo Climate Change Strategy”; and the “Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Master Plan” policies and the programs that were brought to life through their enactment. The findings from the policy review indicate that out of the three dominant programs occupying the space surrounding the energy efficiency of industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, the greenhouse gas reductions achieved by the Tokyo Cap & Trade program were the most notable and amounted to 10 million tons of CO2 at the end of the first compliance period. Despite regulating a fraction of the companies residing in Tokyo, 91% of the facilities surpassed the mandatory targets of 6-8% during the first compliance period, and 80% had surpassed the targets of 15-17% by the end of the first year of the second compliance period, showing great potential for future CO2 reductions.