Academy of Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) Sustainability Seminar Series Fall 2025 - Transforming cities into clean energy hubs: The SolarEV City Concept for deep decarbonization
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Cities, responsible for more than 70% of global CO₂ emissions, stand at the center of the climate crisis. Yet in high-density urban areas, limited space constrains renewable energy deployment. This lecture presents the SolarEV City concept—an integrated vision that combines rooftop photovoltaics (PV) and electric vehicles (EVs) as “mobile batteries,” transforming cities from energy consumers into self-sufficient, clean-energy ecosystems. Comprehensive analyses across 1,741 municipalities in Japan and case studies in Paris and Jakarta show that coupling PV and EVs through Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) systems can reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 90%, achieve 87% energy self-sufficiency, and cut household energy costs by nearly 40%. Beyond these results, the findings reveal a new paradigm: urban form shapes decarbonization potential. Suburban areas—with abundant rooftop capacity—can become renewable “powerhouses,” circulating clean energy to urban cores and fostering resilience. This lecture explores how technology, policy, and human values can converge to realize this transformation. The SolarEV City vision will also serve as one of the foundational ideas of the newly established Institute for Climate and People (ICP) at Tohoku University, which aims to foster a sustainable future through the co-creation of solutions connecting climate, energy, and people.
Date
19 Nov 2025 (Wed)
Time
10:00am-11:30am (HKT)
Format
Zoom
Topic
“Transforming cities into clean energy hubs: The SolarEV City Concept for deep decarbonization”
Speaker
Dr. Takuro Kobashi, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University
Moderator
Prof. Masaru Yarime, Associate Professor, Division of Public Policy & Division of Environment and Sustainability, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Registration
Dr. Takuro Kobashi is an environmental researcher whose career bridges fundamental climate science and applied sustainability studies. After earning his Ph.D. from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, where he investigated past climate change through Greenland ice-core analysis, he has shifted his focus to urban decarbonization and the transition to sustainable societies. He is the leading proponent of the “SolarEV City” concept, which integrates rooftop photovoltaics and electric vehicles to create self-sufficient, low-carbon urban systems. His research combines techno-economic modeling and global case studies—including Japan, France, and Indonesia—to identify scalable solutions for deep decarbonization. His work offers new pathways for designing sustainable cities and shaping effective climate policies.