Goyang City Takes the Lead in Ending Plastic Pollution with the 'Global Local Governments Alliance'

Participation in the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee of the International Plastic Treaty
Introduction of Goyang City's Resource Circulation Achievements Including Ice Pack Reuse Project and Resource Circulation Stores

Goyang Special City, Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Dong-hwan) announced on the 27th that it participated in the Global Local Governments Forum to End Plastic Pollution held at BEXCO in Busan on the 26th, representing Korea, and shared Goyang City's resource circulation policy achievements with cities around the world.

Participants of the Global Local Governments Forum to End Plastic Pollution are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Goyang Special City

This Global Local Governments Forum was a side event of the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) for the International Plastic Treaty, held from the 25th, and was prepared together by the ‘Global Local Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (LSNG Coalition)’, which was launched on April 22 to emphasize the role of local governments in the adoption and implementation of the International Plastic Treaty, and ICLEI.

The ‘Global Local Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (LSNG Coalition)’ is an international alliance officially launched by ICLEI World Secretariat, Quebec Province of Canada, Catalonia Province of Spain, UCLG, and others, among local and regional governments and partner organizations to end plastic pollution.

The main goal of the Global Local Governments Coalition is to prevent plastic pollution and ensure that the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee recognizes the important role of local and regional governments in solving the current plastic crisis.

Goyang City participated in the ICLEI World Congress held in S?o Paulo, Brazil, in June this year and joined the ‘Global Local Governments Coalition to End Plastic Pollution (LSNG Coalition)’ as the representative of the circular economy for the ICLEI Korea Executive Committee.

As an ICLEI circular economy representative city and coalition member, Goyang City was invited to this forum, where Park Won-seok, the 1st Deputy Mayor of Goyang Special City, presented the achievements of resource circulation promotion closely cooperating with the private sector to end plastic pollution, such as ice pack reuse and resource circulation stores.

In addition to Goyang City, the forum was attended by Magash Naidoo, Circular Economy Representative of ICLEI World Secretariat; Jean Lemire, Climate Envoy of Quebec Province, Canada; Rachel L?vesque, International Cooperation Officer; Ignasi Mateo, Project Manager of the Catalonia Government, Spain; Zoe Heller, Director of Resource Circulation, California, USA; Mitch Reynolds, Mayor of La Crosse, USA; Adeyemi Olayemi Bishop, Ondo State, Nigeria; and Emiko Murakami, Director of Kitakyushu City, Japan, who shared policies and projects to reduce plastic pollution promoted by each local government and discussed local governments’ response measures to end plastic pollution.

The city plans to participate in this forum to understand international plastic response policies and respond proactively. In particular, it intends to form a cooperative network with excellent local governments worldwide that are at the forefront of ending plastic pollution, benchmark efficient and sustainable circular economy systems, and review technologies and application methods that can be effectively applied to Goyang City.

Mayor Lee Dong-hwan of Goyang Special City said, “Although we are experiencing unusually warm weather in November 2024, we still tend to regard the climate crisis as a distant issue or someone else’s problem and lower its priority,” adding, “I hope this forum will serve as an opportunity to gather the voices of local governments worldwide and urge central governments to take swift action.”

He continued, “I will take the know-how of several cities that are leading responses to the climate crisis from this forum as a foundation for Goyang City’s transition to a sustainable carbon-neutral city.”