Future City & Net Zero Carbon
Yokohama’s status as an SDGs Future City and its goal to reach net zero carbon by 2050 are two reasons why Yokohama is among the leading cities in Japan for sustainability efforts.
Yokohama was designated an “SDGs Future City” by the Government of Japan in 2018 when it established a system to acknowledge specific cities that have been working toward achieving the SDGs and have a strong drive to continue those efforts into the future. About 30 local governments are selected as SDGs Future Cities every year, and more than 120 local governments have been selected so far (2018-2021).
Yokohama has also declared a determination to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This declaration, in 2019, put Yokohama among the very forefront of Japanese cities tackling climate change and environmental preservation. Since then almost all of Japan’s local governments have adopted the same 2050 goal of carbon neutrality (934 declarations covering 99.7% of Japan’s population as of April 2023). Yokohama has also played a leading role by establishing in 2020 a municipal council for carbon neutrality (Yokohama City, Chair, and 200 member cities as of November 2021), and assisted in drafting climate change policy for partner cities like Da Nang, Vietnam and Bangkok, Thailand, which have made their own declarations for carbon neutrality by 2050.
2030 has also been set as a milestone year for Yokohama’s carbon neutrality, with the city hit the goal of reducing its carbon output by 50% compared to 2013.
Yokohama’s Efforts for the SDGs and Net Zero Carbon in Japan and Abroad
The “EU-Japan Subnational Climate Action Workshop: Exchanges between Cities in Europe and Japan – Opportunities for a Resilient Future” was held under the co-sponsorship of the City of Yokohama
On May 29th and 30th, the City of Yokohama co-sponsored the “EU-Japan Subnational Climate Action Workshop: Exchanges between Cities in Europe and Japan – Opportunities for a Resilient Future”...
Yokohama Mayor Yamanaka and Bangkok Governor Chadchart to Co-create the Path to Net Zero: City-to-City Cooperation Spreads to Business Partnerships
On June 21, 2024, the City of Yokohama and Bangkok Metropolitan Administration held a workshop titled “Net Zero Emissions Business Opportunity under Bangkok-Yokohama City-to-City Collaboration...
Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka promotes decarbonization initiatives and international collaboration at Vatican Climate Summit
Yokohama Mayor Takeharu Yamanaka visited Vatican City and Italy, where he participated in the Vatican climate summit hosted by Pope Francis and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, speaking in front...
Here’s what you missed at Yokohama’s Y-SHIP Convention 2023
From November 13-15, the first ever Y-SHIP Convention was held in Yokohama, Japan, bringing together innovators, businesses, academia, government, and thought leaders to one of the most...
43 Cities and Organizations Join Forces in Landmark Declaration, “Asian Cities Together Towards Zero Carbon”, led by Yokohama and Bangkok
On November 15, 2023, an important step towards reducing worldwide carbon emissions was made at the 12th Asia Smart City Conference as the joint declaration, “Yokohama Declaration: Asian Cities...
Here’s how Yokohama City supports companies acting sustainably and why it keeps winning awards for it
At an event held on October 25, 2023 in the city of Suwon, South Korea, the CityNet UN ESCAP SDG City Awards ceremony was held, recognizing four cities around the world who have been creating...