Gyeonggi-do Promotes 'Climate Bridge Project' to Address Climate Disparities

Gyeonggi Province is investing 364 billion KRW this year to address the ‘climate gap’ by launching climate insurance, providing climate management services for small and medium-sized enterprises, and implementing 121 tasks as part of the ‘Gyeonggi Climate Bridge Project.’

On the 17th, Gyeonggi Province held the ‘Inclusive Climate Crisis Response Strategy Forum’ at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, hosted by the Climate Crisis Response Committee, and announced the plan for the ‘Gyeonggi Climate Bridge Project’ containing these initiatives.

The climate gap is a concept first introduced by Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province at the ‘Climate Reality Leadership Training’ held at KINTEX in Goyang in August 2023. It refers to the phenomenon where disparities in economic and social conditions cause gaps in how different social classes respond to climate change, thereby deepening polarization.

Based on the principle of ‘shared but differentiated responsibility’ to close the climate gap, Gyeonggi Province incorporated four major policies?transition to a climate economy, realization of climate welfare for residents, promotion of balanced climate development, and strengthening residents’ climate capabilities?along with 12 core strategies and 121 detailed tasks into the ‘Gyeonggi Climate Bridge Project.’

Gyeonggi Province plans to allocate a budget of 364 billion KRW this year to implement the project.

Key tasks include operating the nation’s first-ever climate insurance as a social safety net to support health damages caused by climate change for all residents. A platform will also be established to provide one-stop support for small and medium-sized enterprises in expanding renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and calculating greenhouse gas emissions. After a pilot operation, the ‘SME Climate Management Service’ will be offered starting in the first half of the year.

Other initiatives include a climate residents’ assembly, a rural solar power pilot complex, and passive remodeling projects for housing targeting vulnerable groups.

Meanwhile, the forum was attended by over 100 stakeholders, including residents, related experts, insurance and climate tech companies, the Carbon Neutral Residents Promotion Group, and municipal officials, to address the climate gap issues faced by vulnerable groups lacking climate crisis response capabilities.

Poster for Gyeonggi-do's Inclusive Climate Crisis Response Strategy Forum

At the forum, Jeon Ui-chan, co-chairman of the Gyeonggi Climate Crisis Response Committee, served as the moderator, discussing with experts from various fields ways to develop inclusive climate crisis response strategies that encompass all residents and vulnerable groups, and engaged in Q&A sessions with stakeholders present on site.

Professor Cho Yong-sung of Korea University delivered a lecture on the responsibilities and roles of local governments in resolving climate inequality, diagnosing the climate gap phenomenon and emphasizing the importance of proactive government roles to solve the problem.

To establish this policy foundation, Gyeonggi Province is pushing forward the enactment of the nation’s first ‘Basic Ordinance on Closing the Climate Gap in Gyeonggi Province,’ which was publicly announced for legislation on December 19 last year.

Cha Seong-su, Director of the Gyeonggi Province Climate Environment and Energy Bureau, emphasized, “In responding to the climate crisis, we will focus on the values of ‘innovation’ and ‘inclusion,’ promoting innovative climate policies alongside inclusive climate policies that expand social safety nets for climate-vulnerable groups.”

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