A mechanism to realize carbon neutral in 203020300.jp20300.jpPreparing for crowdfunding
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Japan, the world’s fifth-largest carbon-dioxide emissions country.
An increasing number of local governments and companies have announced their commitment to achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions* in 2050 to realize a carbon-free society.

However, even if greenhouse gas emissions are to be cut in half by 2030, the odds of limiting the global temperature rise to within 1.5 degrees Celsius will be 50-50.
Under these circumstances, what can we do now to make sure that we don’t leave any homework to the future, rather than leaving it up to the government or big companies?

“20300.jp,” a platform for reducing CO2 emissions, was born from this question.
It is a mechanism to realize net-zero carbon dioxide emissions in 2030.

By measuring the amount of CO2 that we can reduce and then gifting extra costs paid by a person who made a choice to reduce CO2 (switching costs) to that person, behavioral change may occur.

From Japan, we will start demonstration experiments to find out the solutions for problems of human beings without giving up on the future we hope it to be.

Conceptor: Kokubo Hiroshi (cooperation by: Kuwabara Yuki) [a join business model patent pending]

*Net-zero emissions: Achieving equilibrium between the amount of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, emitted by human-made sources and the amount eliminated by absorption sources, including forests. (Source: the home page of the Ministry of the Environment: comprehensive environmental policy)

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INDEX

BACKGROUND
SOLUTION

BACKGROUND

The Earth is in a critical situation for human beings. The environmental problems are “a matter of life.”

As scientists from all over the world have proven, the changes in the Earth due to global warming are unstoppable, and as we call it the climate crisis, it is an urgent issue for the entire planet.

Since 1979, when satellite observations began, Antarctic ice has been melting at a rate of 13.3% per decade, and it has been reported that since 2002, 286 gigatons of ice on land have been lost every year, and the world’s sea level has risen by 17.8 centimeters in the last 100 years.

While I was visiting the Philippines when I was a student, I saw garbage buried in clean sandy beaches because of the lack of a garbage collection system, powerful typhoons causing damage, and food harvests decreasing because of the impact of the environment. Upon witnessing these changes on the Earth, which I had never experienced in Japan, I realized that the environmental issues I had been learning in the classroom were “a matter of life,” which had already resulted in irreversible changes.

1World’s average surface temperature at a record high

According to an announcement by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on January 14, 2021, the global average surface temperature in 2020 was the second-highest on record after 2016, which was the highest on record since observations began in 1880. This marked the second-highest temperature after 2016, which broke the record for the third consecutive year since 2014, and there are concerns that the warming trend will continue for a long time.

After NASA and NOAA analyzed temperature data collected at some 26,000 observation facilities around the world and by ships and other means at thousands of locations in the ocean, they found that the average temperature for the past 20 years was 14.88 degrees Celsius, nearly 1 degree Celsius higher than the 20th century’s average of 13.90 degrees Celsius.

The CO2 concentration and the temperature are closely related. Now that the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has exceeded 400ppm (a 40% increase compared to the pre-industrial era), it is said that the Earth is obviously getting warmer compared to the past.

Source: NASA Climate Change　“Global Warming from 1880 to 2020”

2Japan’s responsibility as the world’s fifth-largest CO2 emissions source

According to the EDMC/Energy and Economic Statistics Handbook 2020, global CO2 emissions in 2017 were approximately 32.8 billion tons, with China being the country with the largest amount of CO2 emissions, followed by the United States, India, Russia, and Japan. China emits about 9 billion tons every year, the U.S. about 5 billion tons, India about 2 billion tons, Russia about 1.5 billion tons, and Japan about 1.1 billion tons.

Among the top five CO2 emission countries, the U.S. has the highest per-capita emissions (per year) of about 14.6 tons, followed by Russia with the second-highest per-capita emissions of about 10.6 tons, and Japan with the third-highest per-capita emissions of about 8.9 tons.

97% of scientific papers on the subject of global warming assumes that the CO2 increase from human activities is primarily responsible for global warming, and more than three-quarters of the increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration over the past 20 years is said to be attributable to the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal and oil.

In order to reduce the CO2 concentration and slow down the excessive global warming, we are required to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, and we may need to fundamentally review our current social structure and lifestyle.

Source: EDMC Handbook of Japan's & World Energy & Economic Statistics 2020 edition　From the website of the National Center for Climate Change Actions (http://www.jccca.org/)

Designing a society that can reduce CO2 levels and minimize global change is needed.

SOLUTION

Measuring “reductions” rather than “emissions”

Currently, it is very difficult to measure the amount of CO2 emitted by a single person due to the complexity of measurement methods and standards. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to accurately grasp the amount of CO2 emissions from all aspects of one’s lifestyle, including electricity consumption, food and drink, clothing, transportation, home appliances, and furniture. For example, if you want to go on a diet, you should first measure your own weight and figure out how much you need to reduce it, but in the case of CO2, you will fail right from the start. I thought that it would be impossible to reduce CO2 emissions if we didn’t know how much we were emitting right now.

However, I have come to believe that while we cannot accurately measure our current CO2 emissions, we can measure the amount of CO2 we have been able to reduce as a result of our efforts to reduce them by changing my way of thinking. Then, by changing our behavior to reduce CO2 emissions every day, recording the deemed CO2 “reduction amount” achieved by changing our choices, and adding up the numbers, we will be able to measure our CO2 “reduction amount.”

Promote CO2 reduction through cashback and other measures

When we consider whether to take action to reduce CO2 emissions, our biggest concern may be how much we will have to pay and how expensive it will be. It is good that we can reduce CO2 emissions, but if the money in our wallets is reduced, our ability to live a sustainable life may be in jeopardy.

Then, this service will bear the additional cost (switching cost) paid by a person or corporation that made a choice to reduce CO2 emissions. By offering a gift to such parties involved for their actions, either by giving cashback or by giving points, initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions will be facilitated.

Visualizing CO2 reduction ideas and “reduction amount” in real-time

If we can measure the CO2 “reduction amount” of each person, we can add up the CO2 “reduction amount” across the whole country and figure out how much CO2 has been reduced in Japan today. I don’t think any government official has ever come to my house to measure my CO2 emissions, and even if I wanted to go on a CO2 diet, I couldn’t do it in an integrated way, and there was no way to measure it.

However, if we can grasp the CO2 “reduction amount” as described above, we can certainly reduce CO2 emissions little by little. Furthermore, if we can grasp the CO2 “reduction amount” achieved by individuals, companies, municipalities, and organizations nationwide and visualize the amount on a daily basis, it will enhance our motivation and create competition in a positive sense. (See the image below.)

Then, by sharing the successful examples of reducing CO2 emissions and creating more effective ways to reduce CO2 emissions, our society may be able to change. Also, if the CO2 emissions of all services and products are displayed in the future, consumers will be able to see the CO2 amount immediately, which will make measurement simpler and further encourage our efforts toward carbon neutrality.

Rather than leaving to the future and young people the carbon-neutral measures implemented by the government and large corporations in Japan as a developed country, we hope to finish the assignment of the future by 2030, the year when the SDGs are to be achieved, 20 years ahead of schedule.

Joint development: KUMIKI PROJECT *development image at present

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