Smart cities experiments in France and Japan: Preparing the energy transition

Résumé En

Sustainable development, energy saving, reduction of greenhouse gazes’ emissions, have influenced public policies in recent years in most advanced economies. It is the case of Japan which counts on innovation and has placed green innovation at the core of its future growth dynamics. It is also the case in France since the 2009 “Grenelle of Environment”, a national consultation which gave birth to local initiatives following the Climate Change Plans implementation by cities, up to the recent national debate on energetic transition.The development of an environmental consciousness and of the emergency to act toward a reduction in energy consumption was accelerated in Japan by the nuclear accident of Fukushima, which can be seen as opening new perspectives in terms of acceptability of changes by population. The recent energy transition plan announced by the French government also might open a new phase in the launching of national policies to sustain local or individual initiatives.Mainly based on case studies in Japan and France, the paper will first present the policy framework before focusing more precisely on the experimentations of next generation energy systems in cities, a program that METI has launched in 2010 giving birth to smart communities. These aim at testing on a real scale, how could be coordinated energy management that makes efficient the use of renewable energy resources, environmentally friendly transportation systems etc. Four areas have been selected in Japan in 2010, while NEDO also engaged in international cooperation of smart communities abroad including the city of Lyon in France.