Gyeonggi Province Overhauls "Climate Action Opportunity Income" for the New Year

Gyeonggi Province is overhauling its "Climate Action Opportunity Income" program, which rewards participants for practicing carbon reduction activities in their daily lives.

On January 5, Gyeonggi Province announced a plan to expand the program’s eligibility to include university students enrolled at universities within the province but residing in other regions, as well as residents of six areas including Hwaseong. The revised plan also increases rewards for actions with a greater carbon reduction effect.

Gyeonggi Province first expanded the eligibility for opportunity income support from only local residents to also include university students attending universities located in the province. Even if a student’s registered address is not in Gyeonggi Province, they can participate in the Climate Action Opportunity Income program by verifying their enrollment through documents such as a certificate of enrollment on the app.

In September of last year, Dongyeon Kim, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, visited Gachon University and stated, "We will actively consider including university students as eligible recipients of the Climate Action Opportunity Income program."

The provincial government expects that university students in Gyeonggi Province will play a key role in practicing climate action and spreading related policies, as they face relatively fewer restrictions in terms of time and location.

Additionally, Gyeonggi Province will provide extra rewards to residents of six cities and counties-Hwaseong, Siheung, Yongin, Uiwang, Gapyeong, and Gwangju-if they carry out carbon reduction activities tailored to their local characteristics using their own budgets. The specific activities and corresponding reward amounts will be decided by the end of January, and the program will be rolled out sequentially starting in March. The province also plans to expand the number of participating cities and counties eligible for additional opportunity income rewards.

Gyeonggi Provincial Government

Gyeonggi Province has also revised the reward standards for the opportunity income program. The rewards have been increased for activities with significant carbon reduction effects, such as: disposing of high-quality recyclable materials (from 10,000 won to 20,000 won per year), recycling waste home appliances (from 20,000 won to 40,000 won per year), installing home solar power generation systems (from 30,000 won to 40,000 won per year), and purchasing high-efficiency home appliances (from 20,000 won to 30,000 won per year).

Conversely, the rewards have been reduced for activities with less impact on carbon reduction, such as climate citizen certification (from 2,000 won to 1,000 won), climate quizzes (from 15,000 won to 7,300 won per year), and walking (from 4,000 won to 2,000 won per month).

Furthermore, in the first half of this year, Gyeonggi Province will introduce an electronic bill notification service in partnership with Naver as a new opportunity income reward activity. Switching from paper bills to electronic bills can help reduce carbon emissions.

Byun Sangki, Director of Climate and Environmental Policy at Gyeonggi Province, stated, "The Climate Action Opportunity Income is not just about awarding points; it is a policy that provides residents with the experience that their actions can change the climate." He added, "We will continue to improve the program to further enhance carbon reduction effects and broaden participation opportunities."

Meanwhile, as of the end of last year, the Climate Action Opportunity Income program had over 1.74 million subscribers, establishing itself as a leading climate policy with wide resident participation.