Making Climate Change Policy Work at the Local Level: Capacity-Building for Decentralized Policymaking in Japan

This study will examine the state of local capacity building for local climate adaptation in Japan. Climate mitigation needs to be led by both global strategies and national mandates in an integrated way, but climate change impacts are manifested locally and adaptive capacity is determined by local conditions. The article first lays out the basic components of local capacity for decentralized policymaking and assesses the current local capacity in view of Japan’s climate policy. The bulk of data employed in the study is derived from existing up-to-date government databases. It found that only the largest municipalities as well as prefectures have governing capacities to develop a comprehensive approach to climate adaptation while medium-sized municipalities have a potential to take a participatory approach to climate policy. It argues that some pioneering localities realize their potentials to take initiatives under political leadership but most localities act in a piecemeal fashion according to clear national-level guidance on climate change.

氣候變化政策在本土層面的運作：分散決策能力建設在日本

本項研究攷察當前日本在適應氣候變化上的地區能力建設狀況。緩解氣候變化需要遵循全球策略及相應的國家政策，但氣候變化的影響卻是具體體現在局部地區的。對氣候變化的適應能力也取決於當地的條件。本文探討了分散決策所需的本土能力中應包括的的基本因素，並評估了日本目前在氣候政策上的本土決策能力。本項研究所採用的是既有政府數據庫中的的最新數據。本文發現，祗有最大的城市和地區有獨自開發應對氣候變化的綜合途徑的管理能力，而中型城市則有可能在氣候政策方面採用參與性的決策方式。本文認為，雖然一些具有開創性的地區的領導層主動發揮了其決策潛力，大多數地區仍然祗是跟進國家關於氣候變化的明確指導而缺乏自己整體的對策。

Translated from English by Xin Huang