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| Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon speaking at the conference marking the termination of National Council on Climate and Air Quality at Larva Town in central Seoul, April 13. Courtesy of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Former United Nation Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's national advisory group on the ever-increasing global climate crisis has wrapped up its two-year-long term.
At a special conference, April 13, marking the termination of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality (NCCA), directly under President Moon Jae-in, Ban and invited experts highlighted the significance of Korea's future efforts on carbon neutralization as well as shared the group's accomplishments.
Ban, calling to mind his past arguments on what the country urgently needs, reminded the participants that education about the climate crisis in schools is one of the most pressing objectives today.
"To accomplish carbon neutralization faster, we all of us need to utilize responsible consumption and production, and believe in a global citizenship," said Ban in an opening speech for the conference held at Larva Town in Seoul's Jongno District. ("Larva," Korea's popular three-dimensional animated character, was the official cartoon symbol of the NCCA) "To do that, early education on the climate crisis must take precedence."
Ban left tips for NCCA's progeny, the Carbon Neutralization Committee, which is set to be established in May to deal with climate change issues
"There will be six presidents up until 2050 (when President Moon proclaimed in 2020 that Korea will see net-zero carbon emissions). As they each take the baton from their predecessors, they must maneuver the nation sustainably and stably based on laws and consistent policies to combat the climate crisis."
Whether Ban will play a leading role on the new committee remains undecided to date, an NCCA official told The Korea Times.
Yun Sun-jin, a professor at Seoul National University who was one of the invited dignitaries, said that the role of the new committee is to be the country's control tower for carbon neutralization. "The current laws, policies, regulations and every existing administrative system in this country are hinged on either maintaining or strengthening the carbon-based economy," Yun said. "These regulations must all be changed."
With the new committee, current and future administrations must tackle the climate crisis as "the most critical of all affairs," and face it like a "do-or-die situation, rather than something far-fetched," experts agreed during the second, and last, discussion session of the conference.
"Since the climate crisis poses not just an auxiliary, but a direct threat to companies' survival, the country's efforts towards carbon neutrality must be led by our local companies, while the government should support them with consistent policies, necessary infrastructure and safety nets," said experts from the discussion in unison.
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| Ban Ki-moon and invited guests of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality conference, including professors who specialize in air quality and climate change, as well as representatives of non-government organizations, pose for a group photo during the April 13 conference at Larva Town. Courtesy of the National Council on Climate and Air Quality |
The NCCA contributed to improving the country's air quality with its seasonal monitoring method employed by the central government, Professor Kim Soon-tae from Ajou University confirmed during the conference. With the method, the government enforced more rigorous regulations on carbon emissions and other particulate matter from December to March, when the average particulate matter concentration level is higher than in other months.
According to Kim, in December 2020 the country saw the concentration level of locally created PM2.5 (particulate matter of 2.5 micrometers or less in size) to be 4.2 microgram per cubic meter lower than that of the previous year, while that of PM2.5, from outside the country, saw a year-on-year increase of 1.9. These figures showed a net-decrease of particle matter by 2.3 in 2020 compared to the previous year.
"The reduction in local carbon emissions brought the country's overall PM2.5 concentration level down despite the higher concentration levels from outside," said Kim. "This situation proves that the country's local carbon reduction efforts have a higher potential than we previously expected."
Other eco-friendly approaches taken by the NCCA involved gathering ideas from local experts and citizens, and pushing the critically assessed ones forward to the central government. The "collective thinking and people's science" initiative of the citizens' policy advisory board allowed Korean citizens and other residents in the country to accept the government's new air quality measures with more ease and under less controversy, experts say.
"Such methods involving citizen participation must be carried on by the new committee so that future issues that entail differences in opinion can be resolved in social debates," Yun said.
At the conference, Professor Kim Jeong-in from Chung Ang University talked about state-level green technologies and green funding in advanced countries, such as the United Kingdom's Green Investment Bank and Germany's EKF. Referring to them as "zeronomics" (a compound of "zero" from net-zero carbon emissions and "economics"), Kim said that Korea needs such measures in a more systematic way, in order to raise funds to prepare for the climate crisis and develop green technologies in consideration of the production, distribution and recycling of products.
The NCCA's closing was commemorated by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Environment Minister Han Jeong-ae in a video message. Actor Ryu Joon-yeol, who advocates for a plastic-free life with Greenpeace Korea, and K-pop girl band Red Velvet, who became ambassadors of the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, Sep. 7, 2020, also sent their support online.
The offline conference saw some 50 guests, including members of the citizens' policy advisory board, young adults, representatives from non-government organizations and ordinary citizens. The event was also broadcast live on YouTube and open to public.
