321
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
T. Kuwae, M. Hori (eds.), Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1295-3_12
Chapter 12
Carbon Offset Utilizing Coastal Waters:
Yokohama Blue Carbon Project
Masato Nobutoki, Satoru Yoshihara, and Tomohiro Kuwae
Abstract Although the coastal port city of Yokohama has carried out a campaign to
improve conditions for marine ecosystems, the nation of Japan has not yet utilized
coastal waters as an option for global warming countermeasures. Based on the concept of blue carbon ecosystems advocated by the United Nations Environment
Programme, since 2011 Yokohama City has been conducting a social experiment
called the Yokohama Blue Carbon Project, which serves to counter climate change
and includes a novel carbon offset campaign. Yokohama City, which was chosen by
the Japanese government as an environmental Future City in countering global
warming, is aiming to transition from being a port city to a marine environmental
city. In this chapter, we describe the successes and challenges of the Yokohama Blue
Carbon Project and we report on the project’s involvement in the World Triathlon
Series held in Yokohama as an example of a carbon offset credit framework utilizing
coastal waters.
12.1 Introduction
To date, urban design and development in coastal communities have been a story of
land development, with little thought given to the adjacent ocean. For urbanized
coastal areas in Japan, the ocean has mainly provided logistical functions in urban
design and, in that sense, contributed greatly to industrial development. Furthermore,
M. Nobutoki (*)
Climate Change Policy Headquarters, City of Yokohama, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan
EX Research Institute, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan
S. Yoshihara
Technical Development Department, Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
T. Kuwae
Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute,
Yokosuka, Japan
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019
T. Kuwae, M. Hori (eds.), Blue Carbon in Shallow Coastal Ecosystems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1295-3_12
Chapter 12
Carbon Offset Utilizing Coastal Waters:
Yokohama Blue Carbon Project
Masato Nobutoki, Satoru Yoshihara, and Tomohiro Kuwae
Abstract Although the coastal port city of Yokohama has carried out a campaign to
improve conditions for marine ecosystems, the nation of Japan has not yet utilized
coastal waters as an option for global warming countermeasures. Based on the concept of blue carbon ecosystems advocated by the United Nations Environment
Programme, since 2011 Yokohama City has been conducting a social experiment
called the Yokohama Blue Carbon Project, which serves to counter climate change
and includes a novel carbon offset campaign. Yokohama City, which was chosen by
the Japanese government as an environmental Future City in countering global
warming, is aiming to transition from being a port city to a marine environmental
city. In this chapter, we describe the successes and challenges of the Yokohama Blue
Carbon Project and we report on the project’s involvement in the World Triathlon
Series held in Yokohama as an example of a carbon offset credit framework utilizing
coastal waters.
12.1 Introduction
To date, urban design and development in coastal communities have been a story of
land development, with little thought given to the adjacent ocean. For urbanized
coastal areas in Japan, the ocean has mainly provided logistical functions in urban
design and, in that sense, contributed greatly to industrial development. Furthermore,
M. Nobutoki (*)
Climate Change Policy Headquarters, City of Yokohama, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Japan
EX Research Institute, Toshima-ku, Tokyo, Japan
S. Yoshihara
Technical Development Department, Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd, Taito-ku, Tokyo, Japan
T. Kuwae
Coastal and Estuarine Environment Research Group, Port and Airport Research Institute,
Yokosuka, Japan