IGES Comparative study on the Development of low-carbon cities in China, Japan and South Korea

1 carbon dioxide emission trend and policy framework for low-carbon development

(1) carbon dioxide emission trend. In 2019, China, Japan and South Korea accounted for more than 33% of global carbon dioxide emissions, and their per capita carbon emissions were all higher than the world average. 1 China's carbon dioxide emissions are the highest among the three countries. According to the emission reduction targets set in China's National Climate change Plan (2014-2020) and the 13th five-year Plan (2016-2020), by 2019, China's carbon emission intensity has decreased by 18.2% compared with 2015 and 48.1% compared with 2005, and the 2020 carbon emission intensity reduction target has been overfulfilled ahead of schedule. From 1990 to 2019, Japan's carbon dioxide emissions showed a gradual increase-slow decline trend, reaching a peak in 2013. Since 2014, Japan's carbon dioxide emissions have shown a continuous downward trend, which is mainly related to the reduction of energy consumption in Japan's manufacturing industry and the widespread use of renewable energy and low-carbon electricity. Except during the Asian financial crisis, carbon dioxide in South Korea showed an increasing trend from 1990 to 2019. Compared with 1990, South Korea's per capita emissions increased by more than 2.5 times in 2017, higher than in China and Japan over the same period. Through the improvement of energy efficiency and the transformation of low-carbon energy, South Korea's carbon intensity fell by 27% in 2017 compared with 1990. All three countries have set national independent contribution targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement, promising to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 (Japan and South Korea) and 2060 (China).

(2) low-carbon development policy framework. China's five-year plan has formulated an overall development strategy, including national and local emission reduction targets, which has promoted China's low-carbon development. The five-year plan includes a series of binding and non-binding measures, including low-carbon measures and energy transformation measures. In 2020, China announced that it would strive to achieve a carbon peak by 2030, reduce its carbon emission intensity by 60% to 65% compared with 2005, and strive to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. 2 the Global warming Countermeasures Promotion Act (Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures) is the basic law of Japan's climate change mitigation measures, which defines the responsibilities of the state, local governments, enterprises and residents. The 2016 Japanese government's Global warming response Plan (Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures) introduced a package of policies, including voluntary, regulatory, economic and information methods. These policies are divided into five areas, including greenhouse gas emission reduction policies and measures, national emission reduction actions, measures taken by municipalities, expected efforts of enterprises (especially those with large emissions), and opportunities for global emission reduction and international cooperation. 3 the key policy for South Korea to mitigate climate change and low-carbon development is the basic Law on low-carbon Green growth (Framework?Act on Low Carbon Green Growth) issued in 2010, which is the cornerstone of the national innovation direction based on low-carbon and green technologies to promote economic growth. In 2015, South Korea implemented a national emissions trading scheme, covering 591 commercial entities with the largest emissions in South Korea.

2 Comparative analysis of low-carbon city policies

(1) Governance and institutional structure. 1 one of the key points in the comparison of low-carbon city policies among the three countries is fiscal and policy autonomy. (2) China's decentralized tax, income and expenditure structure highlights the role of local governments, and many Chinese cities have the autonomy and ability to formulate and implement local development policies. (3) the urban financial autonomy of Japan and South Korea is relatively low, and the governance structure of Japan and South Korea leads to less financial and regulatory control. unlike China, Korean and Japanese cities do not have departmental goals issued by national government departments.

(2) National policy on low-carbon cities. 1 the role of cities in the national climate policy framework. Cities have different status in the three countries, and both Japan and South Korea have national climate change laws that stipulate that cities have the responsibility to develop their own low-carbon / climate mitigation plans either directly or through relevant functional departments. By contrast, China has a city-specific climate policy plan, a pilot scheme for low-carbon cities. (2) the support mechanism for cities. In addition to the broad framework to encourage urban low-carbon development, China, Japan and South Korea also provide different types of support to enable cities to achieve low-carbon development. 3 demonstration city plan. The Model City Plan is a common policy tool that encourages voluntary action and provides a framework for scale-up and learning from results. One thing the three national model city plans have in common is that they tend not to impose strict requirements on cities, such as setting specific emission reduction targets.

(3) low-carbon city policy at the local level. Due to the different development status and target-setting indicators of China, Japan and South Korea, it is difficult to objectively and comprehensively compare the low-carbon development plans of the three countries. Many cities in China are in the stage of rapid development and industrialization, promising to reach a peak in 2020-2030. The goals of most South Korean cities are in line with the national emissions reduction targets, and some cities have set more ambitious targets themselves. By contrast, Japanese cities adopt absolute emission reduction targets, which rule out emissions growth.

3 challenges faced by the development of low-carbon cities

(1) goal setting. For cities pursuing a low-carbon development strategy, setting an appropriate target level is a major challenge. In China, low-carbon pilot cities want to support the achievement of national goals. In South Korea, there is also a top-down approach to low-carbon development, and most cities regard national goals as their own goals. In Japan, the ambitions of cities to reduce emissions are usually lower than those of national targets.

(2) the support of governments. National policy has shaped a larger policy environment for the operation of local governments. National governments can provide assistance in coordinating national and local infrastructure and energy development plans, formulating market and financial regulations that widely affect investment decisions, and providing funding and capacity-building services for local efforts.

(3) political and economic uncertainty. Reduced economic activity may lead to a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, especially in countries where economic activity is closely related to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. However, the recession may also lead to reduced support for environmental protection and low-carbon emission reduction, in which case cities face important challenges in advancing the low-carbon agenda.

(IV) data collection, consistency and international coordination. Ensuring proper data collection is a common obstacle to urban low-carbon development initiatives, and without a strong carbon emissions monitoring system, it is difficult to measure progress. At the same time, the tracking of carbon emissions and other data at the city level tends to lag behind the national level. The 2018 emissions Gap report (2018 Emissions Gap Report) noted that data transparency and the lack of common reporting standards hindered coordinated action at national and below levels.

4 suggestions for the development of low-c