Ministry of Environment and Financial Services Commission to Train Green Finance Professionals to Accelerate Carbon Neutrality

The Ministry of Environment and the Financial Services Commission announced that they will hold the first Green Finance Professional Training Program at the Korea Institute of Finance from July 7 to July 11.

Approximately 100 participants, including employees from financial institutions handling credit and external review agencies for Korean green bonds, will take part in this first training session. The Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute, under the Ministry of Environment, will be responsible for operating the program.

The training aims to enhance financial sector practitioners' understanding of green finance and strengthen their capacity to apply the Korean green taxonomy in practice. The curriculum was designed in consideration of the growing demand for information on related systems and evaluation criteria, as the Korean green taxonomy has been applied to green credit since the introduction of the "Green Credit Management Guidelines" in December of last year.

The program consists of a total of 18 subjects, including: understanding the concepts and policies of green finance; global trends in green taxonomies; case studies on economic activities and suitability assessments under the Korean green taxonomy; and green credit management guidelines and practical application. Each subject will be taught by experts with hands-on experience in the relevant fields, providing practical, field-oriented education.

Seo Youngtae, Director-General for Green Transition Policy at the Ministry of Environment, stated, "Although green finance is an important means of responding to the climate crisis, there is a shortage of professionals in the field with expertise in both environmental and financial sectors." He added, "Through this training, we will foster on-site expertise and strive to expand reliable green finance."

Shin Jinchang, Director-General of Financial Policy at the Financial Services Commission, said, "This will serve as an opportunity to raise awareness and interest within the financial sector regarding the roles and functions of finance in responding to the climate crisis." He also expressed his expectation that "it will lay the foundation for the spread and development of 'genuine green finance' that guides resource allocation necessary to achieve carbon neutrality."