2024 Volume 47 Issue 4 Pages 33-40
Since the enforcement of the Paris Agreement, many countries have been grappling with greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. In Japan, various intensive and challenging projects have been carried out under the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures. These projects have aimed to achieve the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal of 46% GHG reduction in 2030 as compared with 2013 emission levels. The Action Plans of Local Government (APLG), which include two types of plans, one for the local government’s organizational action and the other for their areal implementation action, play a key role in attaining the NDC goal. The central government provides comprehensive support to municipalities for developing their APLG, yet the rate of APLG adoption remains low so far. This paper, therefore, focuses on the determinants of setting the APLG. Through a linear probability model analysis of municipal level micro data, this paper reveals that the locality’s organizational capacity (population, level of local policy knowledge and fiscal conditions) and the public disclosure of GHG emission are the determinants of its APLG. The statistical evidence implies that greater support should be considered to enhance APLGs.
