By the end of September 2022, 785 municipalities in Japan had declared their commitments on "net zero carbon emissions by 2050”. However, it seems that quite a few municipalities are still struggling with how to actually become zero-carbon cities. While Japan has set a 46% reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and wants to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, at the individual level, many people are still finding it hard to imagine what our society in the future will look like just from those numerical targets. Meanwhile, we can demonstrate our intention to transition to a decarbonised society by making wise choices and decisions about our food, clothing, shelter, transportation and lifestyles.

Climate Citizens' Assemblies have been taking place in Europe in the past few years, and could be one opportunity to make a real difference. Of course, the European Climate Citizens’ Assemblies cannot be directly transplanted into a Japanese context, but they can provide some suggestions on how these assemblies can be applied to Japan.

In October 2022, IGES sent a research mission to the UK to look into Climate Citizens’ Assemblies. This session will introduce the latest case studies from the mission. In addition, based on the lessons learned from previous Climate Citizens’ Assemblies in Japan and the 1.5°C Lifestyle research conducted by IGES, the session will also look at what individuals can do to achieve a decarbonised society, what our communities can do, and what their respective roles and possibilities will be.