SMART TECHNOLOGY

Subject Week 4:

Summary and your comments for “low-carbon society and circulating society”.

Answer:

1. Low-carbon society

The final target of the low-carbon society (LCS) is substantial reduction of global greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions. GHG concentrations will be stabilized at levels that will not affect humans
or human-survival foundations for the future.

A low-carbon society should:

 Take actions that are compatible with the principles of sustainable development, ensuring
that the development needs of all groups within society are met.
 Make an equitable contribution towards the global effort to stabilize the atmospheric
concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases at a level that will avoid dangerous
climate change, through deep cuts in global emissions.
 Demonstrate a high level of energy efficiency and use low-carbon energy sources and
production technologies.
 Adopt patterns of consumption and behaviour that are consistent with low levels of
greenhouse gas emissions.

Although the definition is intended to cover all national circumstances, the implications are
different for countries at different stages of development. Another key feature is that the
definition, while not neglecting the role of technology in any way, also emphasizes the
importance of lifestyle and social change.

Conclusion: It is shown that low-carbon societies are achievable, but also that it will require a
major coordinated effort, nationally and internationally, to achieve this vision. Although
advancing the technological frontier will be vital, changes must go to a deeper social level if
climate change and development goals are to be reconciled.

2. Circulating society
The resource-circulating society (RCS) is assessed from the viewpoint of material flow change.
At present, no appropriate global targets for an RCS have been proposed. At the national level,
for example in Jpan, three types of target have been proposed: "resource productivity", defined
as GDP divided by input such as natural resources, is an index that comprehensively shows how
effectively materials are being used by industries and in people's lives; "cyclical use rate",
defined as the cyclical use amount divided by the natural resources input a cyclical use amount,
is an index that shows the percentage of cyclical use within the total input amount injected into
an economic society; and "final disposal amount" is an index that directly concerns the urgent
issue of addressing the shortage of landfill capacity at final disposal sites.

In an RCS, resource productivity will be improved substantially. In order to achieve an RCS,

material input will have to be reduced substantially in comparison with economic activity.

Conclusion: Developed countries will have to develop new technologies to achieve the goals of a
sustainable society. However, developing countries will not follow the conventional
development paths but will use new development paths to achieve a sustainable society more
efficiently. Cooperation among all countries is an essential condition for achieving a sustainable
world.

References

1. Sumi, Akimasa, Nobuo Mimura, and Toshihiko Masui. Climate change and global
sustainability: a holistic approach. United Nations, 2010.
2. Skea, J. I. M., and Shuzo Nishioka. "Policies and practices for a low-carbon society."
(2008): S5-S16.
3. Carbon, Low. "A Primer on Low Carbon Societies."
4. Ministry of the Environment, Japan December.2007 , “Building a Low Carbon Society”