Incheon City Declares "Achieving Carbon Neutrality by 2045" at Low-Carbon City International Forum

Ahead of National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target by 5 Years
Presenting 4 Major Policy Directions and 15 Key Initiatives

Incheon Carbon Neutrality Vision [Provided by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyesook Park] Incheon City has decided to achieve carbon neutrality in the Incheon region by 2045, five years ahead of the national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) of 2050.

On the 6th, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok unveiled the "Incheon Carbon Neutrality Vision" containing this plan at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Low Carbon City International Forum held at the Sheraton Grand Incheon Hotel.

To achieve the early realization of carbon neutrality by 2045, Incheon City plans to promote four major policy directions and 15 key tasks.

The four major policy directions are ▲creating a low-carbon economy and ecological city ▲expanding customized citizen climate actions ▲activating global climate cooperation systems ▲strengthening safe climate crisis adaptation.

To this end, the city will invest a total of 18.5 trillion KRW by 2030 to expand renewable energy such as hydrogen, wind power, and fuel cells, and establish an eco-friendly transportation system including the transition to hydrogen buses.

Additionally, the city plans to prepare for a green energy transformation by phasing out coal power plants that have reached the end of their lifespan, focus on fostering new climate industries and supporting technological innovation, and strengthen resource circulation.

Furthermore, the city will promote projects such as the construction of the GCF (Green Climate Fund) Complex, discovery of Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects, strengthening low-carbon MICE capabilities, climate change living labs, expanding carbon sinks through tidal flats and tree planting, climate crisis vulnerability assessments, and the selection and disclosure of greenhouse gas environmental indicators.

Mayor Yoo said, "Incheon City will further strengthen the vision and roadmap implementation to prepare for the great transition to carbon neutrality and faithfully fulfill its role as a responsible member of the international community. We ask for the active support and participation of citizens, as well as cooperation from the government and international community, to achieve early carbon neutrality."

The "Low Carbon City International Forum" is a forum jointly hosted by Incheon City and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) to build a cooperative system with the international community aimed at creating low-carbon cities. It was held for the first time last year.

This forum was attended by about 500 people including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, GCF Secretary-General Yannick Glemarec, Chairperson of the Climate Change Center Yoo Young-sook, and representatives from various Northeast Asian regions such as Chongqing in China, Kitakyushu in Japan, Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, as well as international organizations including UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), GCF (Green Climate Fund), ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), and CityNet.

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