This paper discusses on the role of social capital for regional climate change policy. Nowadays greenhouse gas emissions for household and service sections are especially increasing in Japan. Therefore raising public awareness for climate change policy is necessary from regional level. This study focuses on social capital (SC) which shows regional quality. It is also known as one indicator which affects the regional policy performance. The definition of SC in this paper is by Putnam (1993) “SC refers to features of social organization, such as trust, norms, and networks that can improve the efficiency of society by facilitating coordinated actions.”
On the rule of SC was analyzed from the relationship between SC and regional differences of public awareness for climate change policy. As the indicator of public awareness, “The public opinion polls for climate change policy” by Japanese cabinet office was used. The relationship was analyzed by Principal Components Analysis. Moreover, how the results of this analysis affected to low carbon society were analyzed by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). As a result the awareness factors which were affected by SC and regional characteristics were clear. Finally, it was recognized that we should consider possible uses of SC according to regions and sectors for climate change policy.