Opened on the Opening Day of the Climate Industry Expo
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Chairman Choi Tae-won of the Korea Chamber of Commerce Attend
The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a Business Leader Roundtable on the theme of ‘The Role of Companies for a Sustainable Future’ at the Climate Industry International Expo (WCE) held on the 25th at BEXCO in Haeundae-gu, Busan.
Following the opening ceremony, the Business Leader Roundtable was attended by Chung Eui-yong, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Kim Sang-hyup, Chair of the Carbon Neutrality Committee, Han Hwa-jin, Minister of Environment, Kang Kyung-sung, 2nd Vice Minister of Industry, Oh Myung-so, 2nd Vice Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Song Sang-geun, Vice Minister of Oceans and Fisheries, as well as ministerial-level officials from foreign governments including Uzbekistan, Ghana, Laos, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Oman, and Egypt. Mayors including Park Hyung-joon of Busan, and officials from cities such as New Orleans in the United States and Auckland in New Zealand also participated to share climate change response policies and situations of global cities.
On the corporate side, domestic companies such as Samsung, SK, Hyundai Kia Motors, LG, POSCO, HD Hyundai, and Kakao Mobility, as well as global carbon neutrality leaders including Google and ExxonMobil from the United States, RWE and Volkswagen from Germany, Equinor from Norway, and Ørsted from Denmark, gathered to discuss exemplary corporate cases for achieving carbon neutrality and international cooperation methods among companies.
Jolin Ang, Vice President of Business Development for Google Asia-Pacific, in a presentation titled ‘Technology to Help Do More for the Planet,’ explained, “Google achieved carbon neutrality as early as 2017 and became the world’s first company to use 100% renewable energy electricity,” adding, “Since 2020, we have issued green bonds worth $5.6 billion and are developing carbon reduction products, technologies, and services.”
Jens Orpelt, Head of Asia-Pacific for RWE, one of Germany’s largest energy companies, stated, “RWE has operated fossil fuel power generation including coal, gas, and nuclear for 125 years, but now leads the energy transition to renewable energy,” and added, “We are making various efforts such as closing additional coal power plants and expanding green energy production to achieve emission reduction targets.”
Following this, Kim Hak-dong, Vice Chairman of POSCO, Ingunn Svegarden, Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific at Equinor, Lee Gu-young, CEO of Hanwha Q CELLS, and Werner Group Executive Director of the Danish Trade and Investment Fund (EKF) shared various corporate efforts and cases in turn.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in his congratulatory speech, “In a situation where environmental regulations and trade barriers are increasing mainly among developed countries, carbon neutrality has become an essential task for survival, not a choice,” and added, “The government plans to fully mobilize available policy tools to support companies in practicing carbon neutrality and growing through the climate industry.” Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said, “I hope the Climate Industry International Expo will continue to be a place to share innovative ideas and technologies and contribute to global carbon neutrality.”
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