Chisan chishō — meaning locally grown, locally consumed — is a phrase traditionally associated with agricultural products. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, however, is now trying to do the same for the city’s energy sources.

The capital is moving to break away from a longtime reliance on other regions — and planet-warming fossil fuels — to meet the massive energy demand required to power the metropolis of 14 million people.

To that end, Tokyo is planning to make the installation of rooftop solar panels on new homes and buildings compulsory from April 2025 as it pushes its people and businesses to shift to renewable energy.

The ambitious plan — announced by Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike in September 2021 as part of the capital’s efforts to halve carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 — was greenlighted by the metropolitan assembly through the passage of a related bill Thursday.

Tokyo stands out as a major carbon dioxide emitter, both nationally and globally. It accounted for 4.7% of the national total in 2019, according to the metropolitan government. And data from the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, a group of 97 cities around the world, showed that Tokyo was the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases among them.

That made it all the more important to put the burden on homebuilders rather than individuals, Ohno says.

Under Tokyo’s plan, “companies can choose which houses to mount solar panels on while meeting specific requirements in volume,” says Ohno, a former metropolitan government official who currently serves as an adviser to the governor. “This flexible approach has helped Tokyo overcome barriers the national government couldn’t,” he says.

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Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/12/18/national/tokyo-solar-mandate-shift