Songpa-gu Presents Blueprint for Carbon Neutrality Practice... First Seoul District to Do So

‘Now Is the Time for Earth’ Plan Established... 33 Projects in 8 Sectors 추진

On July 7th at COEX, Ban Ki-moon, Chairman of the National Climate and Environment Council, and Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa District, attended the inauguration ceremony of the 'Carbon Neutral Local Government Action Alliance'.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) is the first autonomous district in Seoul to establish and actively implement a carbon neutrality action plan to respond to climate change.

The district has developed its own action plan to take the lead in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which will come into effect next year, and the government’s Korean version of the ‘Green New Deal’ policy.

The action plan is named "Now Is the Time for the Earth." It reflects the district’s strong determination that immediate action is necessary to effectively respond to the climate change crisis.

The plan’s vision is “Songpa, a carbon-neutral city where people and nature coexist,” aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated in Songpa-gu by 1,757,178 tons, which is 50% of the 2030 target. The reduction target was calculated through external consulting.

To achieve this, the district will carry out 33 projects across eight major sectors: buildings, transportation, waste, public sector, green infrastructure, transition, external cooperation, and evaluation & feedback.

A representative project is the tree-planting initiative called “We Live in the Forest.” By 2022, 2 million trees will be planted throughout the city, including parks, street greenery, and the Songpa Dulle-gil trail, aiming to make Songpa the “lungs of Seoul.” Including the 760,000 trees planted over the past two years, an additional 1.23 million trees will be planted through resident contributions and partnerships with private companies’ social contribution activities.

Alongside this, detailed projects such as utilizing renewable energy through the Songpa Sharing Power Plant, which has expanded to five units, expanding support for eco-friendly vehicle distribution, green building design, reducing food waste at the source, and achieving energy zero in public buildings will be promoted.

In particular, to enhance the objectivity of the plan, the district has prepared various external evaluation methods. They will supplement projects through consulting advisory applications for greenhouse gas reduction activities from the Ministry of Environment and periodic external research projects, and establish a carbon neutrality action plan task force team to monitor progress quarterly.

On November 19 next year, a “Songpa-gu 2030 Carbon Neutral Action Plan Symposium” will be held, inviting domestic environmental experts.

According to the district, achieving the 2030 reduction target will have the effect of planting approximately 266 million 30-year-old pine trees and saving about 3.74 million MWh of electrical energy.

Songpa-gu Mayor Park Seong-su stated, “Now is the time for us to act to pass on a healthy Earth to future generations,” adding, “We will steadily implement the newly prepared carbon neutrality action plan and prepare for a healthy future for Songpa.”

Climate Crisis Emergency Declaration Ceremony

Meanwhile, Songpa-gu has been taking the lead in realizing carbon neutrality, attending the “Republic of Korea Basic Local Governments Climate Crisis Emergency Declaration Ceremony” held at the National Assembly on June 5, where it pledged active response to the climate change crisis, and signing a business agreement with the Ministry of Environment at the “Carbon Neutral Local Government Practice Alliance Launch Ceremony” on July 7.

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