• • On November 1, 2022, the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) announced the results of the “Second round selection of Leading Areas of Local Decarbonization for FY 2022 under the Project to provide grant for transition to local decarbonization and promotion of renewable energy

• • Following the 26 areas selected in the first round (featured in the Monthly Perspective section of June 2022 issue of this report), 20 areas (municipalities) were selected, including Sapporo City, Utsunomiya City, Chiba City, Kyoto City, and Yamaguchi City

• • Based on the roadmap for local decarbonization, more than 100 areas will be selected as leading areas of local decarbonization by 2025, aiming for net zero CO2 emissions associated with electricity consumption in the consumer sector by 2030 in the selected areas with the support from the national government

• • In order to achieve the goals they have set, the selected municipalities will promote the introduction of PV systems and storage batteries, and utilize EVs

Table 1 shows the summary of the projects regarding PV and storage batteries planned by the 20 municipalities selected in the second round.

Table 1 List of municipalities selected as the leading areas of decarbonization and their plans to install PV systems