Tree Planting on Arbor Day by Moon... "Increasing 'Urban Forests' as a Measure Against Fine Dust" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in attended the Arbor Day event and emphasized '2050 Carbon Neutrality' as a measure against climate change, while also calling for the expansion of urban forests as part of fine dust countermeasures.

On the 5th, President Moon attended the Arbor Day commemorative event held at the Seoul Combined Thermal Power Plant in Mapo-gu, Seoul, stating, "According to experts, the cause of COVID-19, which the whole world is struggling with, is climate change."

On the same day, President Moon, along with First Lady Kim Jung-sook, planted a boxwood tree at the Arbor Day event and explained the meaning and importance of tree planting to children from Sangji Elementary School's 'Sangji Forest Love Youth Group' who participated in the planting ceremony.

President Moon said, "(Tree planting) has become necessary as a measure against global warming and for carbon neutrality," emphasizing, "Many countries have agreed to reduce carbon and greenhouse gases to prevent climate warming, and we have also declared '2050 Carbon Neutrality,' setting a goal to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050."

He also stressed the creation of 'urban forests.' President Moon said, "The concentration of ultrafine dust in Seoul's urban forests is 40% lower than in downtown areas," adding, "Planting more trees in cities, as we did today, and expanding urban forests is very important as a measure against fine dust."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Arbor Day event was held at the site of the Dangin-ri Power Plant, Korea's first coal-fired power plant. Currently, the power generation facilities have been moved underground, and most of the aboveground area has been developed into a park. A Blue House official said, "This signifies the importance of eco-friendly energy and urban forests for carbon neutrality." The choice of boxwood, whose flower language means 'enduring patiently,' reflected the determination to overcome COVID-19.

Last year on Arbor Day, President Moon visited Gangwon Province, which suffered from wildfires, and expressed his determination to overcome COVID-19 by planting seven Geumgang pine trees using a shovel made from the damaged wood.

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