Japan-German Symposium "Cities and municipalities on the road to net zero"

Both Japan and Germany have announced ambitious goals to achieve carbon neutrality or “net zero” by 2050 and 2045, respectively. Achieving these goals will require significant decarbonization efforts, not only at the national level but also locally, where cities and communities play a critical role in shaping the transition to a zero-carbon future. Therefore, local action by and in cities and communities will be essential to achieve both net zero and Paris Agreement targets and to avoid the most serious consequences of climate change.

Given their shared ambition, it is no wonder that cities in both countries have already found a variety of ways to cooperate on climate policy. Over the years, more than fifty town partnerships have been created, which underline the connection between the two countries. Some of these partnerships focus explicitly on an exchange on energy and climate policy issues, such as Miyama and the Rhein-Hunsrück district or Osnabrück and Odawara.

These topics and questions were discussed as part of the German-Japanese symposium “Cities and communities on the way to Net Zero”, which took place in virtual form from March 1st - 2nd, 2022. The forum presented approaches and guidelines for successful municipal climate protection activities and presented best practice examples from German and Japanese municipalities. In addition to large cities such as Freiburg, Essen, Kyoto and Yokohama, numerous smaller and medium-sized communities also presented themselves to the audience.

Over the two days, the symposium included a total of three panel discussions and four workshops on topics such as energetic building renovation, municipal energy management, and local electricity and energy production in practice.