Gyeonggi Province Holds "Climate Communication Festival" in Yangpyeong on the 22nd

On August 22, Gyeonggi Province held the "Climate Communication Festival" at The Hill House in Yangpyeong County, where members of the provincial and municipal Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committees and carbon neutrality implementation officers gathered to share outstanding examples of climate crisis response and discuss ways to enhance the effectiveness of climate policy implementation.

Under the "Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality," local governments may establish committees to deliberate and decide on climate policies and appoint carbon neutrality implementation officers to monitor policy progress.

Gyeonggi Province established the "Climate Crisis Response Committee" in April 2023 and, in January of the same year, designated the Vice Governor for Economic Affairs as the carbon neutrality implementation officer. Currently, 24 cities and counties have established such committees, and all cities and counties have appointed implementation officers.

This event was organized as Gyeonggi Province completed the establishment of basic plans for carbon-neutral green growth in all 31 cities and counties in April this year, thereby building a carbon neutrality implementation system. The goal was to strengthen the execution of climate policies and make the results more visible.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Approximately 120 people attended the event, including committee chairpersons from the province and municipalities, private sector committee members, carbon neutrality implementation officers, and public officials responsible for carbon neutrality. Participants watched "Mermaid Chunmong," a film featured at the 2023 Seoul International Eco Film Festival, and freely shared their thoughts on the severity of the climate crisis and the need to create a sustainable planet.

Outstanding climate policy cases were also shared, including: Gyeonggi Province's "Climate Action Opportunity Income App"; Seongnam City's "Operation of Resource Circulation Store RE100 Using AI and IoT"; Gwangmyeong City's "Building a Sustainable Carbon Neutral City with Citizens"; and Gunpo City's "Project to Install Integrated Solar-Powered Noise Barriers at Daeya Underpass."

In addition, author Jung Hyesung led a climate talk session on the topic of "Promoting Climate Policy and Raising Awareness in Ways Citizens Can Easily Understand."

Ko Youngin, Vice Governor for Economic Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, said, "Local governments are the first to experience the impacts of climate disasters," and added, "As the role of local governments in responding to the climate crisis expands, we will strengthen the effectiveness of climate policies based on communication and cooperation between Gyeonggi Province and its cities and counties."

Meanwhile, the Gyeonggi Province Climate Crisis Response Committee consists of a total of 41 members, including 15 ex officio members such as Governor Kim Dongyeon, who serves as co-chair, and directors related to carbon neutrality, as well as 26 appointed members representing the provincial council, academia, industry, women, youth, and labor sectors.