Photo/Illutration Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike sees an exhibition on Japan’s decarbonization technologies at a COP27 venue in Egypt on Nov. 7. (Shinichi Sekine)

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced plans to build a hydrogen supply network of pipelines in the capital as an energy resource to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Koike made the pitch Nov. 8 at a meeting on “green hydrogen” during the COP27 summit in Egypt.

Green hydrogen is derived from renewable energy sources and has minimal impact on the environment, unlike fossil fuels.

During the meeting, Koike spoke about green hydrogen being a pillar to achieve a decarbonated society once the system is up and running in Japan's capital.

“We have plans to build a supply system, including pipelines, to receive ‘green hydrogen’ generated around the world,” she said.

Plans call for constructing pipelines that connect Kawasaki Port in neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture to the capital’s waterfront area to supply Tokyo residents with hydrogen transported to the port from overseas, according to the Tokyo metropolitan government.

Tokyo officials are now weighing research costs for the plan in its fiscal 2023 budget as an initial step in the undertaking.

During the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics held in 2021, the metropolitan government operated a hydrogen station in the athletes’ village in the Harumi district of Chuo Ward in the waterfront area.

Buses to drive athletes to the venues ran on hydrogen supplied from the station.

In July, the metropolitan government laid a pipeline under a public road in the capital to supply hydrogen to nearby areas.

A senior official of the metropolitan government, commenting on Koike’s announcement at COP27, said, “It was a declaration at a COP conference where world leaders congregated, that Tokyo, a huge energy-consuming city, will start acting seriously (about hydrogen energy).”

During the meeting, Koike also referred to the capital’s new policy to require large housebuilders to outfit newly built homes with solar panels from fiscal 2025.

“We will submit a bill to revise a bylaw to legislate the requirement to the metropolitan assembly next month,” she said. “Tokyo will be the first example in Japan to introduce such a system.”

Koike was the first Tokyo governor to attend a COP conference, metropolitan government officials said.

Organizers of the COP27 told the Tokyo government they wanted Koike to attend the meeting because she “is knowledgeable about environmental policies due to her experience of working as environment minister.”

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