Haenam-gun Emerges as Leading Carbon Neutrality Hub for Climate Change Response

Published 24 Dec.2021 22:02(KST)

Attracting the Agricultural Food Climate Change Response Center and Carbon Neutrality Edu Center

Haenam-gun Government Office Exterior Photo by Asia Economy

[Haenam＝Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Hyun] Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do is emerging as Korea’s number one carbon-neutral area in response to climate change, which is becoming a national priority.

According to the county on the 24th, this year it successfully attracted the National Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center and the Carbon Neutral Edu Center consecutively, solidifying its position as a leader in climate change response.

The National Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center, confirmed to be located in Haenam last September, is a large-scale national project with a total budget of 407.9 billion KRW. By 2025, a center will be newly constructed on a 3-hectare site in Samsan-myeon, consisting of one basement floor and four above-ground floors, and will begin full-scale operations.

The center will consist of a Policy Support Department that researches domestic and international climate change policy trends and supports research and development at regional centers; a Climate Data Department that collects big data related to climate change and manages the data platform; and an Advanced Infrastructure Department equipped with a research environment capable of reproducing future climate change scenarios.

Along with the establishment of the Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center, the Jeollanam-do Fruit Research Institute will be relocated and integrated. Haenam-gun will also create an agricultural research complex by building linked and supporting facilities such as the Sweet Potato Research Center and the Climate Change Response Agricultural and Food Research Center, which is expected to generate direct and indirect economic effects of about 800 billion KRW and create approximately 3,800 related jobs.

At the same time, the construction of the nation’s largest Carbon Neutral Edu Center in Haenam is accelerating the realization of carbon neutrality in response to climate change.

The Carbon Neutral Edu Center will serve as a national education center for achieving carbon neutrality and future energy transition, operating various educational facilities and providing spaces where people can experience energy reduction methods in daily life and various environmental issues.

With a total project cost of 42.5 billion KRW, including 29.8 billion KRW in national funds, the center will be built by 2025 on a 57,500㎡ site within the Solar City industrial complex in Sanggong-ri, Sanim-myeon. It will include exhibition and education halls, experience facilities, a promotional hall, and a carbon neutrality promotion hall.

The Carbon Neutral Edu Center is expected to attract 10 million visitors annually, enhancing the region’s status as a leader in carbon neutrality and playing a significant role in revitalizing the local economy.

The Solar City industrial complex, where the center will be located, is developing a 1.59 million㎡ (approximately 480,000 pyeong) renewable energy industrial complex with a capacity of 98 MW, centered on the Solar City photovoltaic power plant, which has the largest power generation capacity in Korea and the world’s largest storage capacity.

As part of Jeollanam-do’s Blue Economy, the Jeonnam-type Smart Blue City development envisions a garden city, solar energy city, and smart city, aiming to create a smart city with self-sufficient functions such as jobs, tourism, housing, education, and medical care. This includes establishing an RE100 exclusive pilot complex that supplies 100% of the industrial complex’s electricity from renewable energy, as well as creating a 500,000㎡ (160,000 pyeong) multi-cultural complex called Sanijeongwon.

In this regard, Haenam-gun was also selected for a 10 billion KRW Smart Green City creation project and has been proactively establishing a resource circulation system with local residents since this year, practicing a regionally tailored 2050 carbon neutrality.

Next year, the county plans to enact the Basic Ordinance on Climate Crisis Response, Carbon Neutrality, and Green Growth, conduct research on establishing a 2050 implementation strategy, and actively discover and promote concrete county government tasks along with institutional groundwork.

By around 2025, when the Agricultural and Food Climate Change Response Center and the Carbon Neutral Edu Center begin full operation, the county plans to focus its administrative capabilities to secure its position as the first local government to achieve 2050 carbon neutrality.

County Governor Myung Hyun-kwan stated, “I am confident that Ttangkkeut Haenam, the gateway to climate change, will be the most suitable area as a control tower to respond to climate change and support the government’s 2050 carbon neutrality plan. The successful attraction of large-scale national institutions this year will not only elevate Haenam’s status but also serve as a groundbreaking opportunity to secure growth engines for the local economy. We will spare no support to establish Haenam as a leader in Korea’s climate change response.”