Sustainable mobility on Earth: Japan versus the Netherlands

When it comes to sustainable mobility, Japan is particularly interesting because of its broad range of measures and activities in this realm. “The Dutch ‘public transport versus asphalt-debate’ has no equivalent in the land of the rising sun. The Netherlands could learn from Japan in that respect,” says attaché for transport, public works and water management at the Dutch embassy in Tokyo Michiel de Lijster.

In Tokyo centre 60-80 per cent of personal transport-kilometers are made by public transport. The level of efficiency in public transport is astonishing. “Efficiency could improve in the Netherlands. But the Japanese innovative automobile industry flourishes as well. The Dutch should focus on both kinds of mobility alike, as does Japan.”

Dr. Catrinus Jepma, professor in energy and sustainability at Groningen University, does not agree it is either/or in the Netherlands. “At least not in terms of policy. We have reached a dead end in both public transport and motor ways. It would take tremendous infrastructural investments to boost train efficiency – I do not see that happening anywhere soon. And we could broaden motor ways, but bridges and crossings will remain bottlenecks. So more asphalt is no panacea either.”

Solutions
“I see two solutions, apart from behavioural changes,” Jepma continues, “the first is to confine cargo trucks to the nighttime and the second is to spread activities instead of trying to concentrate much of the economic activity and investment in the West of the country.”

He is active in the Energy Valley platform. Energy Valley is a public-private endeavour to unite all energy activities in the northern Dutch provinces of Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe and the northern part of North-Holland. The aim is to make the region a nationally and internationally important energy cluster.

Electronics
“Besides public transport and car making, Japan focuses on electronic innovation as much as anything,” says De Lijster. “Smart systems that enable on-board navigation systems to communicate with infrastructure have the future. Depending on traffic and weather conditions your car could advise to take you to the nearest station instead of directly to your work, for example, because that would prove quicker and/or more environment friendly.”

Dr. Jepma points out that it will increase safety, but it does not solve pollution or congestion in either public transport or car traffic.

So which strategies should both countries embrace?

Fossil fuels
Whereas Japan has virtually no fossil fuels of its own, but does harbour some of the world’s leading automobile industries including Toyota, Nissan, and Honda, the Dutch lack car makers but do have natural gas and electricity at their disposal.

Are fossil fuels the be-all-end-all when it comes to deciding on a country’s sustainable mobility strategy?

“Yes, you could say they are,” declares Jepma. “Or rather, raw materials are. Just look at the foreign policies of countries as China or the US – they are all about securing energy supplies.”

Hence the activities of Energy Valley: if you have it, exploit it.

Jepma explains, “Energy is key in the North. Soon, one third of the Dutch power production will be produced in the three northern provinces, the region is key in the European gas world, and it has the second deepest port of the country, ideal for biomass and LNG import.”

“However, within a few decades the Netherlands will change from a gas exporting into an importing country. That is why we strive for the northern provinces to become a European energy hub in terms of transport, storage and trading, but also in terms of broader energy transition application and energy. Cooperation between the energy industries and the university and other knowledge centers is progressing here with phenomenal speed.”

So what part should governments play in stimulating sustainable mobility?

“The Dutch government does fairly well in regard to safety, but accessibility and particles and CO2 emission are government responsibility as well,” says Jepma. He considers large scale urban planning, including changes in the distribution of economic activity, and stimulating or regulating mobility-related behaviour to be government responsibilities.

The key element in Japanese government policy regarding sustainability is to stimulate competition. The ‘Frontrunner programme’ stimulates manufacturers to match the energy performance of the top-performing equipment of their competitors. The best performing vehicle of one year, for instance, is a guideline for the years to come. Furthermore there are tax benefits and burdens with regard to fuel efficiency and gas emission as well as to displacement, weight, and measurements of cars.

Whereas in Europe and the United States fuel efficiency tends to be compensated for by car size, the Japanese government stimulates the development of small light-weight cars: kei-cars (kei jidosha is Japanese for light vehicle). Kei-cars are exempt from certain taxes and from some insurance and parking regulations. Local governments actively support this policy.

“Government policies and industry interests go hand in hand,” concludes De Lijster. “It is in everyone’s interest to do what they are best at.” In Japan, that is undoubtedly technological and electronic innovation. The Japanese foster a deep believe in R&D, whether in hydrogen technology, electric vehicles, or fuel cells. The three largest car makers heavily compete in all of these categories alike and are very successfull commercially.”

Congestion
In electronics the focus is on decreasing congestion, to make transport both safer and more efficient and thereby cleaner. “The Japanese could learn from the Dutch, though,” states De Lijster, “that transport sometimes is not necessary at all. Working from home and deviation from standard office hours are simple solutions to lessen congestion and help the environment.”

“I do not see those developments on a large scale in the Netherlands either - humans are social animals”, comments Jepma, “but video conferencing could become much bigger.” However, while the technology is there, the actual amount of video conferencing taking place is dissapointing. “We still travel too much,” Jepma acknowledges, “the government should definitely stimulate video conferencing. Maybe the next generation will do better in this respect.”