Songpa-gu Achieves 46% of Its 42,000-Ton Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target

Songpa-gu Conducts Midterm Review of Carbon Neutral City Plan... Efforts Evident in District-Specific Projects like Songpa Nanum Power Plant and OnTree Tree Planting App

Songpa Nanum Power Plant Unit 5

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Songpa-gu (Mayor Park Seong-su) announced on the 31st that it has achieved about half of this year's target for realizing a carbon-neutral city.

In September last year, the district established the "Songpa-type Green New Deal Carbon Neutral City Plan," the first among Seoul's autonomous districts. The goal is to reduce Songpa-gu's greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. Currently, 40 detailed projects are being implemented across six major sectors including buildings, transportation, and waste.

On the 18th, the district held a mid-term report meeting to review the progress made so far. As a result, it reduced 40,231 tons out of the annual greenhouse gas reduction target of 91,132 tons, achieving about 46% of the goal. Notably, among the six sectors, the building sector achieved 47% and the public sector 68% of the greenhouse gas reduction, leading the efforts.

The project with the greatest reduction was the application of the "Green Building Design Standards." It was applied to a total of 21 new buildings, reducing 16,054 tons CO2eq of greenhouse gases. CO2eq represents the amount of six greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride) converted into the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide, the representative greenhouse gas.

Next in order were ▲Expansion of new and renewable energy supply in public and private sectors with 13,147 tons CO2eq ▲Expansion of food waste biogas with 3,585 tons CO2eq ▲Support for eco-friendly vehicle distribution with 2,267 tons CO2eq ▲Activation of EPR (Extended Producer Responsibility) for large home appliances with 1,939 tons CO2eq.

Songpa-gu’s unique specialized projects have also achieved meaningful results.

Through the "Songpa Sharing Power Plant," not only greenhouse gas reductions were made, but also about 20 million KRW of energy arrears costs were supported for low-income households using electricity sales revenue, and rooftop cool roofs were installed at four locations including daycare centers and social welfare facilities.

Additionally, as a key project of the 7th local government term, the "Songpa Dullegil" trail was created, and efforts have been made to plant trees with residents. During the first half of the year, 58,714 trees were planted throughout parks and the Dullegil trail.

Moreover, the district has been making various efforts such as developing "OnTree," an application that supports personal tree planting, and conducting environmental cleanup activities called "jupging"?picking up trash while walking or running?at Seokchon Lake, a place with heavy foot traffic. In October, a "Carbon Neutral Talk Concert" will be held to gather opinions from residents and experts on carbon neutrality policies.

Park Seong-su, Mayor of Songpa-gu, stated, "At the current pace, we expect to successfully achieve this year's reduction target of 91,132 tons," adding, "We will actively discover specialized projects such as enacting the first carbon neutrality ordinance among autonomous districts and establishing a carbon neutrality committee to establish ourselves as a leading carbon-neutral city."

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