Dobong-gu Carbon Neutrality Policies Like Carbon Sympathy Mileage Gain Spotlight

Establishment of 7 Major Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies and Enactment of Related Ordinances Leading to Recognition of 'Carbon Gonggam Mileage' Domestically and Internationally, Awarded Prime Minister's Commendation on the 5th

As climate change accelerates, environmental issues have emerged as a critical challenge in our lives, and carbon neutrality has become an essential goal to protect the future of the Earth and humanity.

Carbon neutrality refers to a state of zero net carbon emissions, meaning the reduction of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that cause climate change, including global warming.

Many experts agree that achieving carbon neutrality requires not only policy formulation by the central government but also proactive roles by local governments and individual actions.

Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) established seven major strategies for greenhouse gas reduction in 2020, becoming the first autonomous district in Seoul to do so. In the same year, it enacted the first climate change response ordinance nationwide, formalizing carbon neutrality. The following year, it enacted the Basic Ordinance on Carbon Neutrality, laying the institutional foundation for promoting carbon neutrality policies.

In 2022, Dobong-gu formulated a comprehensive climate change response plan with a greenhouse gas reduction roadmap and began full-scale carbon neutrality efforts. Since then, it has set a series of detailed plans, including a 10-year climate change response execution plan (2022?2031), and has been implementing related policies.

In April 2023, the district introduced the climate action reward system called ‘Carbon Sympathy Mileage’ to encourage residents to practice carbon neutrality in their daily lives. ‘Carbon Sympathy Mileage’ is a Dobong-type environmental mileage program that rewards various carbon-neutral activities in daily life with local currency to respond to the climate crisis.

Unlike other environmental mileage programs that reward only a few specific areas, ‘Carbon Sympathy Mileage’ grants mileage for 47 activities closely related to daily life, such as using public transportation, using handkerchiefs, walking and using stairs, and using reusable cups, thereby encouraging residents’ participation.

As of December 2024, about 9,848 members have visited the ‘Carbon Sympathy Mileage’ app over 2.65 million times and engaged in more than 1.63 million carbon-neutral activities. This has resulted in a reduction of approximately 3,127 tons of greenhouse gases. These achievements have attracted attention from many local governments. Delegations from ‘Geoje City Council’ and ‘Gwangmyeong City, Gyeonggi-do’ visited Dobong-gu to learn from its experience.

‘Carbon Sympathy Mileage’ has also received significant external recognition. On December 5, the district received the Prime Minister’s Commendation in the carbon-neutral lifestyle practice category at the ‘2024 Green Technology Promotion and Consumption Activation Government Awards’ hosted by the Ministry of Environment and the Korea Climate and Environment Network. It was the only local government to receive an award in this category.

The ‘Green Technology Promotion and Consumption Activation Government Awards’ recognize organizations and companies that contribute to green technology, green products, green consumption, green industry, ESG management, and carbon-neutral lifestyle practices.

The district was recognized for its achievements in establishing and operating the Carbon Sympathy Mileage program and promoting the ‘Spread Carbon Neutral DNA: Know, Learn, Practice!’ project, contributing to the spread and cultural establishment of climate-friendly lifestyle practices within the community.

Additionally, the district was selected as an ‘Excellent Case of Local Government Carbon Neutrality in 2024’ by the Ministry of Environment and received the Korea Environment Corporation Chairman’s Award at the ‘2024 Local Government Carbon Neutrality Conference’ on December 2, where it presented its best practices.

Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, stated, “The carbon-neutral lifestyle policies promoted by the district have been recognized as exemplary cases both domestically and internationally. To establish Dobong-gu as a leader in carbon neutrality, we will continue to develop carbon-neutral lifestyle policies, including Carbon Sympathy Mileage, further.”