Trading system of environmental loads: Interregional cap and trade system using an ecological footprint

National lands are classifiable by their usage into source areas and sink areas. Urban areas are environmentally dependent on the land use of rural areas. The concept of environmental balance provides a key perspective. Urban and regional planning including land use planning based on that concept can address environmental problems comprehensively. In recent years, based on the concept of the environmental balance, Ujihara et al. proposed an interregional trading system of environmental loading using ecological footprint. The system is designed to conduct interregional trading based on urban and regional planning. By providing incentives, the system is anticipated as a mode of securing financial resources to promote measures for improvement of the environmental balance voluntarily. However, to consider introduction of the system specifically, it is necessary to examine whether the system provides a structure to improve the environmental balance from the perspective of securing financial resources for urban and regional planning. This study proposed a mechanism for securing financial resources based on an interregional cap and trade system using EF. The study explored future prospects of the system to examine effects on financial resources for urban and regional planning. Results of those analyses show that trading prices related with interregional cap and trade systems using EF are highly influential for financial resources intended for urban and regional planning. The case study demonstrated the possibility that implementation costs are covered by the trading price, even if large-scale measures that drastically reform the regional structure are implemented.