7th Marks First 'Blue Sky Day'... "Korea's Responsible Role in the International Community"

President Moon's UN Proposal Officially Commemorated... Various Events Held
Joint Declaration by Local Governments of 4 Countries... Operation of Blue Sky Week
Ambassadors from 13 Countries in Korea Invited... Explanation of Environmental Satellite Observation Data

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] Various events will be held to mark the upcoming "Blue Sky Day" on the 7th, which is designated as an official United Nations (UN) commemorative day and a national holiday.

The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on the 6th that they will hold various events around Blue Sky Day (September 7), which is the first time it is observed as an official UN commemorative day and a national holiday, adopted at the UN upon the proposal of President Moon Jae-in.

Last August, the National Climate and Environment Council's public participation group proposed the establishment of Blue Sky Day. Based on this, President Moon proposed the designation of "World Blue Sky Day" to the international community during his keynote speech at the UN Climate Action Summit held in New York, USA, in September of the same year. Subsequently, the resolution for Blue Sky Day was adopted at the 74th UN General Assembly.

The government revised the "Regulations on Various Commemorative Days" last August to designate Blue Sky Day as a national holiday.

This year, the theme for the first Blue Sky Day set by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is "Clean Air for All."

Since we are all connected by the air we breathe, the theme means that we must all work together across homes, workplaces, society, governments, and borders for clean air.

Our government added the subtitle "The Blue Sky We Create" to this year's theme, "Clean Air for All." This emphasizes once again that clean air and blue skies are not given but must be created together.

The Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with the National Climate and Environment Council and local governments, will operate "Blue Sky Week (September 4?11)" and present various events to raise awareness of the seriousness and impact of air pollution such as fine dust.

The National Climate and Environment Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Chungcheongnam-do will jointly host a Blue Sky Day commemorative event on the afternoon of the 7th at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul.

They will promote a joint declaration among 17 local governments from four countries (Korea, China, Japan, Russia), including Li Ganjie, Governor of Shandong Province, China, and Arai Shogo, Governor of Nara Prefecture, Japan, and hold a meeting with future generations both domestically and abroad.

The National Institute of Environmental Research will hold an event on the 11th at the Environmental Satellite Center located in Seo-gu, Incheon, inviting heads of diplomatic missions from 13 countries including Vietnam and Indonesia.

The participating countries are those within the observation range of the geostationary environmental satellite that Korea launched for the first time in the world last February. The institute plans to explain the provision of satellite observation information and plans to support the establishment of ground observation networks to these countries.

Various commemorative events will also be held at UN organizations between September 7 and 8 to mark Blue Sky Day.

At the UN Headquarters in New York, a commemorative ceremony will be held presided over by Satya Tripathi, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, and a high-level meeting will be held at the UNEP headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, presided over by Inger Andersen, Executive Director of UNEP.

Minister of Environment Cho Myung-rae emphasized the importance of international cooperation for blue skies and clean air through a video message and stated that Korea will play a responsible role.

Minister Cho encouraged, "A blue sky without fine dust is not simply given; we must create it. Let us use Blue Sky Day as an opportunity to change each of our actions with the mindset that we are both victims and problem solvers of fine dust."

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said, "Only through sufficient consensus and solidarity within the international community can we protect the blue sky for all of us," and added, "We will continue to strive to seek joint cooperation measures in the international community, including the Northeast Asia region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.