An overview of the revised Climate Change Adaptation Law

Abstract

Due to the impacts of global climate change, summers in Japan are gradually becoming hotter, resulting in the number of heat stroke fatalities in Japan exceeding 1,000 every year. Considering these circumstances, the 211th Ordinary Diet session enacted “the Act to Partially Amend the Climate Change Adaptation Act and the Act on the Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency, Independent Administrative Agency” (Act No. 23 of 2023, hereinafter referred to as the “the Revised Climate Change Adaptation Act”). This law became fully enforced beginning in April 2024. These amendments were intended to further enhance measures against heat illness in anticipation of possible extremely high temperatures in future summers. The Revised Climate Change Adaptation Law (1) requires the government to establish an action plan incorporating heat illness countermeasures, (2) places Heat Stroke Alert in the law and creates a new Special Heat Stroke Alert, (3) introduces a system allowing municipal mayors to designate “Cooling Shelters” (heat evacuation facilities), (4) creates a system to empower designated organizations to promote heat illness countermeasures, and (5) adds additional duties related to heat illness countermeasures to The Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency.