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Yokohama as an “Eco-Model City” formulates action plans for its key project “Yokohama Green Valley Initiative”.

　YOKOHAMA, JAPAN –Thursday, January 13, 2010 　- The City of Yokohama has been designated by the Japanese government in July 2008 as an “Eco-Model City” as its commitment to tackling climate change issues was regarded as highly successful, specifically in such methods as formulation of CO-DO30※1 - Yokohama’s action plans to mitigate climate change including a policy for renewable energy promotion and promote G30※2.

　The City of Yokohama has recently formulated action plans in an attempt to materialize “Yokohama Green Valley Initiative”- one of the core projects of the “Eco-Model City.” Yokohama aims to promote “low carbon urban planning” through fostering environment and clean energy industries that contribute to stimulation of economy and through forming an education basement for environmental issues. In this regard, Yokohama will hold talks with enterprises and concerned parties in the community that have keen interests in the above mentioned projects.

※1 CO-DO30 is Yokohama’s action plans to mitigate climate change, which sets mid-and-long term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the city and attempts to achieve the goals. Specifically, it targets 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per one citizen by the year 2025.

※2　G30 is an action of garbage reduction and recycling to achieve the target set in “Yokohama G30 Plan” that aims to reduce the amount of waste over the whole city for the fiscal 2010 by 30% as against the fiscal 2001. As of the end of the fiscal 2008, the city had already achieved the target with the reduction rate of 40%.

【About Yokohama Green Valley Initiative】

　The initiative is part of the attempts to achieve such goals as “reduction of greenhouse gas emissions” and “10-fold increase in the use of renewable energy” set in CO-DO30, Yokohama’s action plans to mitigate climate change.
　The initiative plans to make the coastal area as pioneering areas for renewable energy technologies, utilizing civic power. For undertaking the measures, the initiative starts with the Kanazawa coastal area where all the elements composed of Yokohama cluster compactly, including private residences, factories, public facilities, greenery and the sea.
　It aims to expand its efforts to lower carbon emissions to the entire city in stages, striving for a 60% reduction of the greenhouse gas emissions per person by 2050.

【Concrete measures to be taken】

(１)Promote energy-saving measures: Realization of local production of energy for local consumption
　The Initiative aims to build a mechanism to accommodate utilizations of energy including electricity and thermoelectricity within the community and thereby establish a more efficient way for energy consumption. This will be addressed through such methods as visualization of energy consumption for grasping the actual situation and utilization of electric vehicles and waste heat.
（2）Foster environmental and energy industries: Creation of eco-products and services through government-industry-academia collaboration
　The initiative will build a ground where enterprises are actively engaged in technological collaborations with other companies. This will be addressed through such programs as business matching of companies for desirable collaborations and subsidization for research and development, facility expansion and new industry creation. By doing so, it aims to support the environmental business for market expansion including sales channels development for developed products.
（3）Form an educational basement for environmental issues: Creation of the basement that attracts visitors from home and abroad
　The initiative will build a platform that enables inspection of the social infrastructures including parks, facilities in the natural environment and public plants. Further, it will promote an environmental education program as Yokohama Eco School (YES) in collaboration with universities in the city.

【Projects to be scheduled】

◆Energy monitoring project
　The project will aim to grasp the condition of demand and supply balance of energy in the community by monitoring the amount of energy consumption by households and enterprises and the amount of renewable energy being provided.
◆EV (electric vehicleｓ) car sharing project
　In a bid to introduce eco-friendly transportation system that caters to the needs in the community, the EV car sharing project will be promoted in collaboration with private enterprises.
◆Environmental education program in collaboration with universities in the city
　In collaboration with such universities in the city as Yokohama City University and Kanto Gakuin, the project will start with setting up civic lectures on environmental issues and creation of environmental tools that incorporate ideas from these students.


Please contact the following for further inquiries
Climate Change Policy Headquarters of the City of Yokohama
TEL: 045-671-2447

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Media Liaison Subdivision, Management & Planning Bureau, City of Yokohama
- Created:14 Jan.2010
Contact Us - ts-hodo@city.yokohama.jp - TEL: 045-671-3498
©2010 City of Yokohama. All rights reserved.

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