First Meeting on Creating Carbon Neutral Cities: "Strengthening Climate Change Resilience"

Ministry of Environment Signs Smart Green City Council Agreement with Affiliated Agencies
Expert Advisory Group Formed... "Advancing and Spreading Low-Carbon Urban Models"

Sejong Lake Park, which received the Excellence Award for 'Green City' from the Korea Forest Service last year. (Photo by Korea Forest Service)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The government announced that it will officially embark on a low-carbon city development project. As part of the Green New Deal policy announced on the 14th of last month, the goal is to enhance the climate change response capabilities of urban ecosystems.

The Ministry of Environment stated on the 19th at 3 p.m. that it will hold the first meeting and sign a business agreement to form a support group for the 'Smart Green City' project at the Government Complex Sejong with the Korea Environment Corporation, Korea Water Resources Corporation, and Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute.

The project is one of the core initiatives of the Green New Deal, focusing on the 'green transition' of living spaces to improve cities' climate change resilience.

After selecting 25 cities, each region will develop necessary project plans (including complex projects) to improve climate and environmental issues independently. Projects will be selected through a public contest and supported accordingly.

Based on this, a comprehensive plan will be established to promote the long-term construction of future environmental cities by preparing nationwide expansion measures and inter-ministerial cooperation plans.

The public contest will begin next month. Subsequently, 25 cities proposing excellent project plans will be selected and provided with project funding support for two years starting next year. The national subsidy rate for the support fund is approximately 60%.

This year, 1 billion KRW will be supported through the supplementary budget (for research services to prepare the comprehensive plan), and from next year until 2022, project costs for about 25 local governments will be subsidized for two years.

Additionally, the Ministry of Environment will form an expert advisory group on Smart Green Cities next month with domestic experts in urban and environmental fields. Various expansion plans, including models for carbon-neutral cities, will be introduced.

Data='Ministry of Environment Green New Deal Policy Directions and Major Projects'

According to the 'Green New Deal Policy Directions and Major Projects' document organized and announced by the Ministry of Environment on the 22nd of last month, the project will be carried out focusing on four major areas: resilience, low emissions, ecological restoration, and human-centeredness.

Specifically, ▲building resilience to respond to weather and water environment changes due to climate change, ▲refining transportation and resource circulation systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ▲preserving and restoring urban ecosystems and enhancing access to natural resources, and ▲raising overall environmental awareness through guaranteeing environmental rights and education.

The Ministry of Environment stated that it set related plans in the four major areas based on urban strategic transitions proposed by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) for sustainable development.

Lee Byunghwa, Policy Planning Officer at the Ministry of Environment, said, "The crisis of climate change is not a distant future but is approaching right before our eyes," adding, "The start of a carbon-neutral society must begin with improving the constitution of cities where 91% of the population resides."

The Policy Planning Officer emphasized, "Smart Green Cities will be the first step toward green transition of cities led by local regions, and the Ministry of Environment and the support group will serve as a bridge," adding, "As this is the first project to integrate the Ministry of Environment’s policies centered on urban spaces, the Ministry and its affiliated organizations will join forces to produce tangible results that local residents can feel."

Source: Ministry of Environment

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