The role of local governments
Climate change impacts differ throughout Japan depending on local climate, geography, and other aspects of the natural environment, and on key industries, key crops and other socioeconomic circumstances. In this context, the Climate Change Adaptation Act (hereinafter, the Adaptation Act) requires local governments to formulate plans related to climate change adaptation, provide information on climate change impacts and adaptation, and take other necessary measures. This section explains these roles of local governments.
Responsibilities of local governments
Adaptation measures need to be carefully tailored to the circumstances of each region. This means that, alongside central government adaptation measures, those implemented by local governments and businesses within their local area are extremely important.
Local governments are required to endeavor to promote policies for climate change adaptation in accordance with natural, economic, and social factors in their region. They are also required to promote climate change adaptation by businesses within their local area by publicizing their adaptation policies.
Climate Change Adaptation Act, Article 4 (Responsibilities of Local Governments)
Article 4 (1) Local governments shall endeavor to promote policies for climate change adaptation in accordance with natural, economic, and social factors in their region.
(2) Local governments shall endeavor to provide information on the policies prescribed in the preceding paragraph and take other measures in order to promote climate change adaptation and business activities that contribute to climate change adaptation by businesses, etc.
Formulation and implementation of local climate change adaptation plans
Adaptation measures benefit local communities, business activities, and the lives of residents. As such, local governments are expected to protect residents and economic activity in their local area by systematically promoting climate change adaptation measures.
Article 12 of the Adaptation Act requires all prefectures and municipalities to endeavor to formulate a local climate change adaptation plan. This reflects the fact that municipalities are often responsible for the planning and administration of disaster prevention; agriculture, forestry, and fisheries; and other policy areas related to climate change adaptation, enabling coordination in these areas.
Joint planning between neighboring municipalities and prefectures would also be appropriate in cases in which circumstances are similar, and Article 12 allows for such collaboration between multiple municipalities and prefectures.
To aid formulation of plans, a Local Climate Change Adaptation Plan Formulation Manual has been published on A-PLAT, and can be accessed by anyone.
Climate Change Adaptation Act, Article 12 (Local Climate Change Adaptation Plans)
Article 12. In view of the Climate Change Adaptation Plan, prefectures and municipalities shall, either independently or in coordination with each other, endeavor to formulate a local climate change adaptation plan (meaning a plan for adapting to climate change suitable to the natural, economic and social circumstances in their region) in order to promote policies regarding climate change adaptation, in accordance with the natural, economic and social circumstances of their local area.
Establishment of Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers and dissemination of information
Article 13 of the Adaptation Act requires prefectures and municipalities to endeavor to establish Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers (LCCACs) as hubs for collecting, organizing, analyzing, and providing information on climate change impacts and adaptation in their local areas, and for providing technical advice.
LCCACs are important hubs for bolstering information infrastructure and sharing information. Collaborating with research institutions possessing adaptation expertise can also help to streamline the implementation of adaptation initiatives. LCCACs are also being established by other organizations such as local government affiliates, regional environmental research institutes, and universities, partly out of a desire to prevent the siloing of local knowledge on climate change and to consider new ways of enhancing the scientific infrastructure on climate change. The activities of LCCACs vary depending on the needs of the local community and the strengths of the organization concerned, but are expected to include the following:
- Organizing scientific findings on local climate change impacts and adaptation required for formulating local climate change adaptation plans in response to requests from local governments
- Collecting local adaptation best practices
- Predicting and assessing local climate change impacts
- Providing technical support for local climate change adaptation plan formulation and promotion of adaptation measures
- Sharing information on local climate change impacts via websites etc.
- Responding to inquiries regarding adaptation from local businesses and residents
- Sharing collected information and analyses based on this information with NIES
Climate Change Adaptation Act, Article 13 (Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers)
Article 13 (1) Prefectures and municipalities shall, either independently or in coordination with each other, endeavor to establish systems that will function as centers (referred to as "Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers" in the following paragraph and in paragraph (1) of the following Article), to collect, organize, analyze, and provide information regarding climate change impacts and climate change adaptation, and also to give technical advice in order to promote climate change adaptation in their local area.
(2) Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers shall work to share gathered information and the results of organizing and analyzing this information with the National Institute for Environmental Studies.
Regional council establishment and participation
Promoting adaptation measures often requires collaboration across a somewhat wider area, since disaster prevention, agricultural promotion, biodiversity conservation, and other policy areas do not necessarily fall solely within the purview of single prefectures or municipalities. Neighboring municipalities facing common challenges and needs can also benefit greatly by sharing information.
For such reasons, Article 14 of the Adaptation Act encourages the establishment of Regional Councils on Climate Change Adaptation to promote collaboration between relevant regional branches of central government ministries and agencies, prefectures, municipalities, LCCACs, universities, research institutions, businesses, private sector organizations, and other local stakeholders.
A similar earlier initiative was the Regional Adaptation Consortium Project implemented jointly by MOE, MAFF, and MLIT for three years from FY2017 that involved the creation of regional councils in six blocks across the country to promote the project.
This initiative led to the launch of subcommittees within Regional Councils on Climate Change Adaptation in seven blocks (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kinki, Chugoku-Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa) focused on climate change impacts that required collaboration between regions. This resulted in the formulation of action plans for the period from FY2020 to FY2022.
Climate Change Adaptation Act, Article 14 (Regional Councils on Climate Change Adaptation)
Article 14 (1) Regional environment offices and regional branches of other central government ministries, prefectures and municipalities, Local Climate Change Adaptation Centers, businesses, etc., and other entities engaged in activities in connection with climate change adaptation, may organize Regional Councils on Climate Change Adaptation (hereinafter, in this Article, referred to as "Regional Councils") in order to carry out necessary consultations on climate change adaptation through wide-scale cooperation.
(2) If deemed necessary, Regional Councils may request the National Institute for Environmental Studies and other research institutions to provide materials, present opinions, give explanations of these and for other cooperation.
(3) The members of Regional Councils shall respect the results of discussions concerning the matters agreed upon at Regional Council meetings.
(4) General affairs of Regional Councils shall be processed by the Regional Environment Office.
(5) Beyond what is provided for in each of the preceding paragraphs, the particulars necessary for the running of the Regional Council shall be determined by that Council.