Please tell us about Kyoto Prefecture’s unique local features and characteristics, what led to the establishment of the Local Climate Change Adaptation Center, and what its organizational structure is like.

(1)Kyoto Prefecture’s unique local features and characteristics

In terms of geography, Kyoto is a prefecture with an elongated shape extending from northwest to southeast, with a length of roughly 150 km and an average width of about 40 km, with the Tango Peninsula at its north tip projecting into the Sea of Japan, and the Yamashiro Mountains in the south edge bordering Nara and Mie Prefectures. While the prefecture is mostly highlands in the northern and central areas, there are sprawling plains such as the Kyoto Basin in the south, with around 74% of the prefecture’s total area comprised of forests. Because the prefecture does not have a single mountain surpassing 1,000 m in elevation, most of its land is classified as a temperate zone. In terms of climate, the northern part of the prefecture beyond the Tanba Mountains and the Tanba Plateau − which run across the midsection from east to west with one following the other − tends to have drizzling rain and snow often from fall to winter, with snow accumulation topping 1 m in the mountainous areas, which is classified as a Sea-of-Japan coast climate. Meanwhile, the prefecture’s southern part including the Kyoto Basin has a typical inland climate that involves significant seasonal variation in temperature, marked by hot, humid summers and chilly winters. The Kyoto Basin − where Kyoto City is located − used to be the nation’s capital for over a millennium from the Heian period until the beginning of the Meiji era and still has a society where occupations and industries that have existed since ancient times are still thriving and the traditional culture from bygone eras is still part of everyday life.

(2)What led to the establishment of the Climate Change Adaptation Center

While Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City had historically collaborated in the implementation of climate change mitigation measures, they decided to cooperate also on adaptation measures, which included the founding of a local climate change adaptation center. The prefectural and city governments then formed a joint study committee for exploring climate change adaptation measures suitable for Kyoto, where Kyoto’s optimal approach to adaptation measures were discussed, including the functions of the Climate Change Adaptation Center. As these discussions led to a view that it would be essential to cooperate with an academic research institute that was adept at analyzing the effects of climate change, etc., the decision was made to establish the Center as a joint enterprise between Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, and the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN), which is a joint-use inter-university research institute. Prior to the establishment of the Center, the three co-founding parties executed in April 2021 an agreement on their comprehensive cooperation in promoting measures against global warming and facilitating global environmental research. Then in July 2021, the parties entered into a formal agreement to establish the Kyoto Climate Change Adaptation Center, based on which the Center was instituted within the RIHN.
In terms of its organizational structure, the Center has a secretariat staffed by employees assigned by each of Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City, and the RIHN, and is supervised by an operation committee comprised of the employees representing each of the three parties that are managing their respective operations, and outside experts.

Please tell us about the current activities of the Kyoto Climate Change Adaptation Center as well as its future plans.

We have been gathering and analyzing information on climate change impact and adaptation as they relate to Kyoto, communicating related information to the public, and examining adaptation measures, etc. while also taking advantage of the Ministry of the Environment’s climate change information gathering and analysis project with citizens’ participation. To give some specific examples, in 2021 we conducted interviews and other surveys of concerned organizations operating in such fields that were presumably impacted by climate change, and identified the types of climate change impacts that we thought had to be prioritized and addressed in Kyoto based on the survey results. Then in 2022, we have been conducting a whole range of activities based on the identification, including assessment of climate change impacts on paddy rice farming, formulation of countermeasures including interactive workshops with farmers, etc., assessment of climate change impacts on tea farming, which is one of Kyoto’s renowned specialty food products, examination of comprehensive adaptation measures, evaluation of climate change impacts on Kyoto’s scenic landscapes and gardens and their knock-on effects on its culture and tourism, and study on how extreme heat conditions might affect the health and culture of the prefectural residents and tourists, etc. We will sort through the findings from these activities and make them available to the public through online symposiums, the Center’s newsletters, website, and other avenues in a digestible manner so that they can be of use to all prefectural residents and businesses. We will also continuously build and improve cooperative relationships and networks with concerned organizations.

Please tell us about any unique approach that your Local Climate Change Adaptation Center is taking to effectively coordinate with other departments of the prefectural and municipal governments and to facilitate adaptation by the local residents and businesses, as well as any issues, etc. you are experiencing.

＜Kyoto Climate Change Adaptation Center＞
As the local residents’ awareness on climate change adaptation still remains low, we believe it is necessary to continuously disseminate related information such that it can be easily understood. In terms of the promotion of adaptation measures among businesses, it is the area we are just beginning to wade into, but we think it is crucial to formulate adaptation measures in lockstep with businesses so that they will be able to implement and expand such measures on their own initiative.
＜Kyoto Prefecture＞
The far-reaching and salient effects of climate change are being felt across Kyoto Prefecture also, in terms of flood control, public health, agriculture/fishery, natural ecosystems, etc. To address this, Kyoto Prefecture revised its plan to promote countermeasures against global warming in 2021, setting the direction to address both mitigation (greenhouse gas emission reduction) and adaptation measures simultaneously. As for the adaptation measures, we have set up a working group within the Kyoto Prefectural Headquarters for Global Warming Action Facilitation (headed by the Mayor of Kyoto), which is comprised of members from various prefectural departments, and we are planning on formulating cross-departmental measures in cooperation with concerned organizations and implementing adaptation measures across the prefecture while leveraging the information and insights obtained by the Center.
＜Kyoto City＞
As climate change indiscriminately affects a wide range of areas, it is crucial that stakeholders operating in each area themselves recognize the necessity of proper adaptation measures and formulate them accordingly. For this objective, Kyoto City has included in its basic plan a carbon-neutral urban development initiative emphasizing both mitigative and adaptive measures, as one of the plan’s key strategic components. As it would be optimal to facilitate adaptation measures cross-departmentally within the municipal government, we have a task force set up since 2017 that is comprised of members that are managers of the concerned municipal departments. We will examine what adaptation measures might be needed by Kyoto City and actively work with concerned municipal departments to promote awareness on the necessity of proper adaptation measures while harnessing the knowledge gained through the Center.

Please tell us what motivates you to do your current work and also your outlook on the future.

＜Kyoto Climate Change Adaptation Center＞
Based on our previous interview surveys of stakeholders operating in wide-ranging fields to study the effects of climate change they were experiencing, we have determined that egregious impacts have been manifesting in Kyoto across all fields. The firsthand accounts of such climate change impacts that we were able to obtain through those surveys have proven to be such invaluable assets to the Center. We are intent on continuously facilitating our investigation and research and realizing innovative climate change adaptation by combining the insights of the prefecture, the city, and the RIHN while enlisting the support of outside researchers and organizations.
＜RIHN＞
As one of the developed countries that are responsible for having exacerbated climate change to this point, we believe Japan needs to formulate and implement a mode of innovative climate change adaptation that is equitable and optimized with a long-term vision, without having other regions and countries suffer the negative consequences of climate change unfairly. From this perspective, we consider it significantly meaningful that we are able to investigate normative models and frameworks as part of our operations that might be applied to other parts of the world and maybe dubbed the Kyoto model, while addressing the issues that are unique to Kyoto simultaneously.
In terms of future outlook, we will strive to investigate how innovative climate change adaptation could be brought about from the vantage point that was just described to address issues in Kyoto while coordinating them with measures to mitigate climate change in the region. In addition to such local focus, we intend to conduct activities that are conducive to the development of a society that can adaptively endure climate change (in line with the Climate Resilient Development concept promoted by the IPCC) while reflecting on their implications and significance from local and global perspectives.
＜Kyoto Prefecture＞
As climate change is impacting a fairly wide range of areas, including our daily living, industries, traditional culture, and natural environment, we need to have a comprehensive and long-term view that is grounded in wide-ranging insights when formulating and implementing any climate change adaptation measures. However, some of these measures require enormous amounts of time to implement (crop cultivar development, etc.) while other measures are difficult to determine how effective they might be in a short period (urban development, green infrastructure, etc.). Furthermore, there is also a possibility that some measures that get implemented with positive results could become obsolete and unsuitable in short order. While this dichotomy between the urgency of issues and the scrupulous care needed for planning and implementation is a challenge, we are highly motivated to do the work, knowing that our facilitation of adaptation measures will lead to the creation of a better society. In this vein, we are eager to formulate and implement exemplary initiatives in this region of Kyoto so that they could be introduced to the rest of the world.
＜Kyoto City＞
Climate change affects us all, beyond the borders of municipalities. Therefore, our ability to cooperate with Kyoto Prefecture and the RIHN at the Center to investigate and research the effects of climate change manifesting in Kyoto and learn broad insights from them openly provides a source of great motivation and significant value for us. So, we intend to assess the results of our activities conducted at the Center and apply them to Kyoto City’s own adaptation measures, while coordinating with the municipality’s unique administrative issues.