Abstract
The impacts of climate change are apparent in various regions of the world. Even though climate change may have a positive effect, it is anticipated that there will be many severely negative effects on human and natural resources in the future. Therefore, in addition to the need for stronger promotion of mitigation policies, it is urgently necessary to study and implement adaptation policies over the longer term to prepare for the possible negative impact of climate change. To implement climate change adaptation measures rapidly in Japan, it would seem practical and effective to make good use of the various countermeasures already promoted by both the national and the local governments for many sectors such as disaster prevention, environmental management, food production, and protection of the nation’s health. These countermeasures are considered to have potential for effecting climate change adaptation. This study, focusing on adaptation to climate change negative impacts, investigates to what extent the existing policies of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government could contribute to climate change adaptation, based on a comprehensive examination of targeted fields and indicators for which adaptation policies could be pursued. The results showed many of the existing policies could be useful for adaptation to climate change in many sectors. Furthermore, less than half of these policies need to take future climate change into account in order to contribute to climate change adaptation. This study proposes three basic steps that consider future climate change and local governmental propositions for the rapid implementation of adaptation policies in Japan.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adger WN, Arnell NW, Tompkins EL (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Glob Environ Change 15(2):77–86
Allen MR, Frame DJ, Huntingford C, Jones CD, Lowe JA, Meinshausen M, Meinshausen N (2009) Warming caused by cumulative carbon emissions towards the trillionth tonne. Nature 458(7242):1163–1166
Amundsen H, Berglund F, Westskogh H (2010) Overcoming barriers to climate change adaptation—a question of multilevel governance? Environ Plan C 28:276–289
Ashina S, Fujino J, Masui T, Ehara T, Hibino G (2012) A roadmap towards a low-carbon society in Japan using backcasting methodology: feasible pathways for achieving an 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050. Energy Policy 41:584–598
Berrang-Ford L, Ford JD, Patterson J (2011) Are we adapting to climate change? Glob Environ Chang 21:25–33
Biesbroek GR, Swart RJ, Carter TR, Cowan C, Henrichs T, Mela H, Morecroft MD, Rey D (2010) Europe adapts to climate change: comparing national adaptation strategies. Glob Environ Change 20:440–450
Biesbroek GR, Klostermann JEM, Termeer CJAM, Kabat P (2013) On the nature of barriers to climate change adaptation. Reg Environ Change 13(1119):1129. doi:10.1007/s10113-013-0421-y
Bizikova L, Parry JE, Karami J, Echevierria D (2015) Review of key initiatives and approaches to adaptation planning at the national level in semi-arid areas. Reg Environ Change. doi:10.1007/s10113-014-0710-0
Burton I, Kates RW, White GF (1993) The environment as hazard, 2nd edn. Guilford Press, New York
CACCA (2010) Approaches to climate change adaptation. Committee on Approaches to Climate Change Adaptation, Tokyo
CCCIAR (2008) Wise adaptation to climate change—report by the Committee on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research. Committee on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Research, Tokyo
City of Madrid (2008) City of Madrid plan for the sustainable use of energy and climate. City of Madrid, Madrid
City of Vancouver (2008) Climate change adaptation—administrative report. City of Vancouver, Vancouver
DEFRA (2010) Adapting to climate change: a guide for local councils. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London
DEFRA (2013) The National Adaptation Programme, making the country resilient to a changing climate. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, London
Donner SD, Skirving WJ, Little CM, Oppenheimer M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2005) Global assessment of coral bleaching and required rates of adaptation under climate change. Glob Change Biol 11(12):2251–2265
Environment Agency (2009) Thames Estuary 2100, managing flood risk through London and the Thames estuary. Environment Agency, UK, London
EU (2013) Climate change adaptation practice across the EU, understanding the challenges and ways forward in the context of multi-level governance. European Commission and Directorate-General for Climate Action, Brussels, Belgium
Fischer G, Shah M, Tubiello FN, van Velhuizen H (2005) Socio-economic and climate change impacts on agriculture: an integrated assessment, 1990–2080. Philos Trans R Soc B Biol Sci 360(1463):2067–2083
Ford JD, Berrang-Ford L, Bunce A, McKay C, Irwin M, Pearce T (2014) The status of climate change adaptation in Africa and Asia. Reg Environ Change. doi:10.1007/s10113-014-0648-2
German Federal Cabinet (2008) German strategy for adaptation to climate change. http://www.bmu.de/fileadmin/bmu-import/files/english/pdf/application/pdf/das_gesamt_en_bf.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
Gomi K, Shimada K, Matsuoka Y (2010) A low-carbon scenario creation method for a local-scale economy and its application in Kyoto city. Energy Policy 38(9):4783–4796
Gomi K, Ochi Y, Matsuoka Y (2011) A systematic quantitative backcasting on low-carbon society policy in case of Kyoto city. Technol Forecast Soc Change 78(5):852–871
Greater London Authority (2010) The draft climate change adaptation strategy for London: public consultation draft. Greater London Authority, London
Grothmann T, Patt A (2005) Adaptive capacity and human cognition: the process of individual adaptation to climate change. Global Environ Change Part A 15(3):199–213
Grubb M (2012) Cap and trade finds new energy. Nature 291:666–667
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
IPCC (2014a) Summary for policymakers. In: Field CB, Barros VR, Dokken DJ, Mach KJ, Mastrandrea MD, Bilir TE, Chatterjee M, Ebi KL, Estrada YO, Genova RC, Girma B, Kissel ES, Levy AN, MacCracken S, Mastrandrea PR, White LL (eds) Climate change 2014: climate change impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Part A: global and sectoral aspects. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–32
IPCC (2014b) Summary for policymakers. In: Edenhofer O, Pichs-Madruga R, Sokona Y, Farahani E, Kadner S, Seyboth K, Adler A, Baum I, Brunner S, Eickemeier P, Kriemann B, Savolainen J, Schlomer S, von Stechow C, Zwickel T, Minx JC (eds) Climate change 2014: mitigation of climate change. Contribution of working group III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–30
IPCC (2014c) Climate change 2014: synthesis report. In: Core Writing Team, Pachauri RK, Meyer LA (eds) Contribution of working groups I, II and III to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland
Kirtman B, Power SB, Adedoyin JA, Boer GJ, Bojariu R, Camilloni I, Doblas-Reyes FJ, Fiore AM, Kimoto M, Meehl GA, Prather M, Sarr A, Schar C, Sutton R, van Oldenborgh GJ, Vecchi G, Wang HJ (2013) Near-term climate change: projections and predictability. In: Stocker TF, Qin D, Plattner GK, Tignor M, Allen SK, Boschung J, Nauels A, Xia Y, Bex V, Midgley PM (eds) Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of working group I to the fifth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 953–1028
Klein RJT, Huq S, Denton F, Downing TE, Richels RG, Robinson JB, Toth FL (2007) Inter-relationships between adaptation and mitigation. In: Parry ML, Canziani OF, Palutikof JP, van der Linden PJ, Hanson CE (eds) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 745–777
Kundzewicz ZW, Mata LJ, Arnell NW, Doll P, Jimenez B, Miller K, Oki T, Sen Z, Shiklomanov I (2008) The implications of projected climate change for freshwater resources and their management. Hydrol Sci J J Des Sci Hydrol 53(1):3–10
Lawson N, Carter J (2009) Greater Manchester local climate impacts profile (GMLCIP) and assessing Manchester City Council’s vulnerability to current and future weather and climate. In: http://media.adaptingmanchester.co.uk.ccc.cdn.faelix.net/sites/default/files/GMLCLIP.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
Lim B, Spanger-Siegfried E, Burton I, Malone E, Huq S (2004) Adaptation policy frameworks for climate change: developing strategies, policies and measures. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
MAFF (2010) Development of mitigation and adaptation technologies to tackle global warming in the fields of agriculture and fishery, promotion adjustment costs. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Government of Japan, Tokyo
Meinshausen M, Smith SJ, Calvin K, Daniel JS, Kainuma MLT, Lamarque JF, Matsumoto K, Montzka SA, Raper SCB, Riahi K, Thomson A, Velders GJM, van Vuuren DPP (2011) The RCP greenhouse gas concentrations and their extensions from 1765 to 2300. Clim Change 109(1–2):213–241
MLIT (2010) Practical guidelines on strategic climate change adaptation planning—flood disasters. River Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Government of Japan, Tokyo
MoE (2009) Heatstroke environmental health manual, revised in June 2009. Ministry of Environment, Government of Japan, Tokyo
Moser SC, Ekstrom JA (2010) A framework to diagnose barriers to climate change adaptation. Proc Natl Acad Sci 107(22026):22031
Mullan M, Kingsmill N, Kramer AM, Agrawala S (2013) National adaptation planning: lessons from OECD countries, OECD Environment Working Papers, No. 54, OECD Publishing. doi:10.1787/5k483jpfpsq1-en
Nishida Y, Huab Y (2011) Motivating stakeholders to deliver change: Tokyo’s cap-and-tradeprogram. Build Res Inf 39(5):518–533
OECD (2009) OECD policy guidance on integrating climate change adaptation into development co-operation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris
Patankar A, Patwardhan A, Andharia J, Lakhani V (2010) Mumbai City Report. In: http://cc.start.or.th/climateChange/Document/Doc_eng_16.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
PlaNYC (2011) A greener, greater New York. PlaNYC, New York
Reckien D, Flacke J, Dawson RJ, Heidrich O, Olazabal M, Foley A, Hamann JJP, Orru H, Salvia M, Hurtado SDG, Geneletti D, Pietrapertosa F (2014) Climate change response in Europe: what’s the reality? Analysis of adaptation and mitigation plans from 200 urban areas in 11 countries. Clim Change 122:331–340
Rosenzweig C, Solecki W (2010) Climate change adaptation in New York City: building a risk management response. Wiley, New York
Shimada K, Tanaka Y, Gomi K, Matsuoka Y (2007) Developing a long-term local society design methodology towards a low-carbon economy: an application to Shiga Prefecture in Japan. Energy Policy 35(9):4688–4703
Smit B, Pilifosova O, Burton I, Challenger B, Huq S, Klein RJT, Yohe (2001) Adaptation to Climate Change in the Context of Sustainable Development and Equity Contents. In: McCarthy JJ, Canziani OF, Leary NA, Dokken DJ, Kasey S. White KS (eds) Climate change 2001: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, contribution of working group II to the third assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 879–912
Snover AK, Binder LW, Lopez J, Willmott E, Kay J, Howell D, Simmonds J (2007) Preparing for climate change: a guidebook for local, regional, and state governments. In association with and published by ICLEI. Local Governments for Sustainability, Oakland, CA
Spanish Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (2008) PNACC—the Spanish National Climate Change Adaptation Plan. In: http://www.magrama.gob.es/es/cambio-climatico/temas/impactos-vulnerabilidad-y-adaptacion/pnacc_ing_tcm7-12473.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
Surminski S (2013) Private-sector adaptation to climate risk. Nat Clim Change 3(11):943–945
Swedish Commission on Climate and Vulnerability (2007) Sweden facing climate change—threats and opportunities. In: http://www.regeringen.se/content/1/c6/09/60/02/56302ee7.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
Tanaka M, Shirai N, Ogawa M, Kimura H (2011) Regional impacts of global warming, summarized results of fact-finding survey (literature search) on efforts toward adaptation policies. In: http://www.hosei.ac.jp/NEWS/newsrelease/110224.html. Accessed 23 March 2015
Tompkins EL, Eakin H (2012) Managing private and public adaptation to climate change. Glob Environ Change 22:3–11
Toronto Environment Office (2008) Ahead of the storm: Preparing Toronto for climate change – development of a climate change adaptation strategy. Toronto Environment Office, Toronto
USEPA (2014) Climate change adaptation plan. In: http://epa.gov/climatechange/Downloads/EPA-climate-change-adaptation-plan.pdf. Accessed 23 March 2015
WHO Regional Office for Europe (2007) Environment and health risks from climate change and variability in Italy. WHO Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen
World Bank (2009) Climate change impact and adaptation study for Bangkok metropolitan region. The World Bank, Washington D.C, Final Report
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by Collaborative Research on the Impacts of Climate Change on Tokyo and the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S-8) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editor: James D. Ford.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hijioka, Y., Takano, S., Oka, K. et al. Potential of existing policies of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for implementing adaptation to climate change. Reg Environ Change 16, 967–978 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-015-0809-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-015-0809-y