 |
|
 |
 |
 | |
 | |
|
Presentation Ceremony of Environment Model City Certification
|
|
|
A total of 82 applications by 89 organizations were made from all over Japan to this program in which the Government provides assistance in a prioritized manner to those cities and regions selected as Environment Model Cities that take up the challenges of conducting pioneering initiatives with lofty goals, in order to transform Japan into the world's precedent "low-carbon society." The screening was undertaken by the members of the Sub-committee of Creating Environment Model Cities and Low-carbon Society, set up under the Council on the Global Warming Issue. The members closely examined application papers and interviewed 24 applicant organizations. The evaluations were based on the following five criteria: setting the goal of a significant reduction of greenhouse gases; appeals as pioneering efforts and model projects; regional adaptability; feasibility; and sustainability. As a result, six municipalities were certified as meeting the criteria and Prime Minister Fukuda presented certifications to each head of the municipalities. Those municipalities which were certified are: Yokohama City in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, Obihiro City in Hokkaido, Toyama City in Toyama Prefecture, Shimokawa Town in Hokkaido, and Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture. Before presenting the certifications, Prime Minister Fukuda said, "At the recent G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, leaders of nations agreed to seek to adopt the goal of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2050 as a goal of the entire world. The people's cooperation is essential in order to achieve this goal, and we need support from central players in each region. That is why we started this endeavor, in which you are expected to lead the efforts by other local governments or groups nationwide. Please exert your leadership and continue your exemplary efforts, so that the world can see that Japan, too, has many environment model cities."
|