Tokyo 2016 will now be a little bit greener now that the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has introduced a mandatory cap on emissions within the city. A Tokyo 2016 press release says, “the emissions cap – which will target large CO2 emitting office buildings and factories – demonstrates Tokyo’s commitment to tackling global warming and climate change”.
The new law, which would be a significant step in meeting Tokyo’s commitment to reduce CO2 emissions by 25 per cent from 2000 to 2020, will cover 1,300 office buildings and factories in the city. The businesses affected account for about 40 per cent of the total CO2 emissions from Tokyo’s business and industry sector.
The press release says the move by the assembly also supports the idea of uniting “Green and 2016”, a key part of Tokyo 2016’s “Musubi Promise”, which will also see Tokyo 2016 reunite youth and sport, and bring together old and new Japan, heritage and innovation, and the Games with city life for the benefit of Japan and the whole Olympic Movement.
According to the press release, by 2016 when Tokyo hopes to host the Olympic Summer Games, the city will have undergone a “profound environmental transformation catalyzed by being appointed host city for the world’s greatest event”. There will be 1,000 hectares of new greenery, “establishing a harmony between urban living and the natural environment”. A Sea Forest zone will have been created in Tokyo Bay allowing for ocean breezes “to flow through the city, naturally cooling down the summer air at 2016 Games venues”.
The introduction of the mandatory cap and trade system by the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly comes into effect in April 2010 which Tokyo 2016 officials say complements the “sweeping” ten-year master plan, “Tokyo’s Big Change”.
