Dobong-gu Joins the 'Korea 2050 Carbon Neutrality' Movement to Address the Climate Crisis

Expressing Strong Commitment to Achieving Carbon Neutrality in Our Region and Enhancing Understanding and Interest in Community Carbon Neutrality

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Dobong-gu (Mayor Dong-jin Lee) participated online on the afternoon of the 24th at the Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul in the 'Special Session on Carbon Neutrality Practice' jointly hosted by the Ministry of Environment (Minister Han Jeong-ae) and the 'Carbon Neutral Local Government Practice Alliance,' declaring carbon neutrality by 2050 together with all 243 local governments in Korea.

The local governments participating in this event announced their commitment to the common goal of carbon neutrality centered on the region through the declaration, including ▲achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 ▲pursuing a safe and happy life from the climate crisis ▲discovering and supporting carbon neutrality projects ▲communication and joint cooperation among local governments ▲leading climate action practice and dissemination.

'Carbon neutrality' means minimizing greenhouse gas emissions that cause global temperature rise and increasing carbon sinks such as forests to make the net greenhouse gas emissions '0.'

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the highest specialized organization in the field of climate change, has published a research report stating that all countries worldwide must achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 to keep the Earth's temperature rise within 1.5℃.

Following these research results, the European Union, the United States, Japan, and others have declared carbon neutrality by 2050, and in October last year, the Republic of Korea also declared carbon neutrality at the government level.

This 'Special Session on Carbon Neutrality Practice' event was held as a pre-event of the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, with participation in a hybrid (in-person + online) format by key figures including ▲Minister Han Jeong-ae of the Ministry of Environment ▲Minister Jeon Hae-cheol of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety ▲Ban Ki-moon, Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) ▲economist Kate Raworth ▲Jung Eui-sun, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and heads of major domestic and international cities, sharing the roles of local governments for carbon neutrality and discussing concrete implementation plans and cooperation.

Meanwhile, Dobong-gu declared a 'Climate Crisis Emergency Declaration' with 226 basic local governments nationwide in June 2020 and joined the 'Carbon Neutral Local Government Practice Alliance' in July, already declaring 'achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.'

Following this, in August, Dobong-gu formed the 'Dobong-gu Greenhouse Gas Reduction T/F,' announced the '2050 Dobong-gu Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy' in September as the first among Seoul's autonomous districts, and in December enacted the 'Dobong-gu Ordinance on Climate Change Response,' the first in the nation to codify the greenhouse gas reduction target as 'achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.'

Additionally, Dobong-gu declared 2021 as the inaugural year for carbon neutrality implementation and plans to continue carbon neutrality policies, including holding the '2050 Carbon Neutrality Practice All-Citizen Resolution Rally' on Earth Day, April 22.

Furthermore, the district established the 'Dobong-gu Climate Change Countermeasures Committee,' composed of about 12 members including climate change experts, the deputy mayor, and the director of the Sustainable Development Bureau, to strengthen public-private cooperation. Through a national subsidy project (70 million KRW support) selected by the Ministry of Environment in January for establishing climate change response plans, Dobong-gu plans to develop the 'Dobong-gu Comprehensive Climate Change Response Plan' in connection with the national government and Seoul city.

Mayor Dong-jin Lee of Dobong-gu said, “Based on today's declaration, we will make carbon neutrality policy the core of district administration and lead local governments by creating a sustainable growth model together with the public and administration.”

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