The EEB project's governance includes an Assurance Group whose job it is to keep us on track and provide a high-level response to our work. Hosted by TEPCO and Kansai, the two major utilities in Japan and members of the EEB Core group, the meeting at TEPCO's headquarters in central Tokyo gave us an insight into the clash between energy savings and personal comfort. The Japanese government has decided that air conditioners should not be set below 28°. Short-sleeved, open neck shirts are now the order of the day, but it's still hot!
The reason for this is that the authorities had to close down the world's biggest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station on the Japanese North-West coast. A very strong earthquake hit an area under the sea northwest of the power station in July 2007. It has to be thoroughly inspected before being allowed to restart. Overnight the Kanto area including Tokyo – Yokohama area lost 8,200 MW of generation capacity. Dramatic action was needed to prevent blackouts, including the regulation on office temperatures and the relaxation of the dress code.
The EEB assurance group is chaired by Klaus Toepfer, former head of the UN Environment Programme. Other members present in Tokyo were Prof. Vivian Loftness (Carnegie Mellon University), Prof. Shin-ichi Tanabe, (Waseda University) and Prof. Yi Jiang (Tsinghua University). Prof. Thomas Johansson (Lund University) and Eileen Claussen (Head of PEW Centre) were unable to participate.
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