Choi Tae-won: "Companies Must Become Problem Solvers in Reducing Carbon... Technology Sharing Is Also Necessary"

Welcome Speech at Climate Industry International Expo
"Companies Cannot Be Free from the Climate Crisis"
Emphasizing the Need for Infrastructure Overhaul and Technology Sharing
Expo Co-hosted by KCCI, Government, and IEA
Held at BEXCO, Busan from 4th to 7th

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of SK Group, attended the '2024 Climate Industry International Expo' held at BEXCO in Busan on the 4th as the head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, stating, "As an entrepreneur, I believe that companies cannot be free from the climate crisis," and emphasized, "Now, companies must become carbon solution agents that directly reduce carbon. Carbon neutrality is a social responsibility that companies, as members of the global society, must fulfill."

Choi Tae-won, Chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

Chairman Choi made these remarks in his welcoming speech announcing the opening of the expo that day. He referred to the case of Google, which gave up the title of 'the first large corporation to achieve carbon neutrality' after increased power demand and carbon emissions due to artificial intelligence (AI) development in July, saying, "I realize how challenging the task of carbon neutrality is."

He continued, "Our country's energy system and infrastructure are based on fossil fuels from the economic development era 40 to 50 years ago, making it still insufficient to respond to the rapidly increasing power demand in the AI era and to support the zero-carbon energy era," pointing out the need for building a flexible power grid and reforming the incentive system.

Furthermore, Chairman Choi stressed the necessity of 'technology sharing,' saying, "The climate crisis cannot be solved by any single company or country alone. I believe that only by everyone thinking together and sharing the technologies and innovations they have can we create greater synergy."

Meanwhile, this expo is jointly hosted by the government, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the International Energy Agency (IEA), and is held from the 4th to the 7th at BEXCO in Busan. Now in its second year, the expo gathers companies from around the world and climate and energy experts to discuss the latest technologies and policies to respond to the climate crisis and achieve carbon neutrality goals. Key figures including Chairman Choi Tae-won, IEA Secretary-General Fatih Birol, and Busan Mayor Park Hyung-jun, as well as representatives from 32 embassies in Korea, 24 national delegations, and 10 international organizations, participated in large numbers. The theme of the expo is 'Opening the Zero-Carbon Energy (CFE) Era with Climate Technology,' featuring conferences, exhibitions, and CFE leader roundtables. About 540 domestic and international companies showcased the latest technologies and products for carbon emission reduction and explained their efforts through panel discussions.