“We will create a good model for the central government and other local governments to follow in the fight against climate change,” said Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim.

“Gyeonggi Province has been conducting joint research with the United Nations Environment Program for the past 15 years on policies to improve air quality in the metropolitan area, and we are working on many fronts,” said Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim in his opening remarks at the 2023 Clean Air International Forum held at the Gyeonggido Business & Science Accelerator (GBSA) on September 5.

Introducing Gyeonggi’s eco-friendly policies, such as the Gyeonggi RE100 platform, the ban on disposable cups in government offices, and the 50% discount on tolls for eco-friendly vehicles in Gyeonggi starting on September 7, Governor Kim said, “Korea has a lot of work to do to actively address climate change. Gyeonggi Province will take the lead and create a good model for the central government and other local governments to follow.”

The Clean Air International Forum has been held annually since 2018 to address transboundary air pollution, with this year’s theme being ‘Together For Clean Air.’ Gyeonggi Province, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), is hosting the event during the United Nations (UN) designated Blue Sky Day (September 7) week.

More than 200 participants from five countries – including local and international environmental experts, international organization officials, Asia-Pacific government representatives, academics, and Gyeonggi Province residents – participated in the event.

The keynote speaker, Gyeonggi Province Climate Ambassador Kang Geum-sil, spoke on “Inequality in Air Pollution and the Climate Crisis.” She said, “Eighty-nine percent of premature deaths caused by air pollution occur in low- and middle-income countries, and the carbon emissions of the three largest emitters are 16 times that of the 100 lowest emitters,” stressing, “We must work to reduce national and social inequalities in air pollution and the climate crisis.”

The second keynote speaker, Professor Kim Sang-woo of Seoul National University’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said, “Ultrafine particles and ozone reflect sunlight and cool the earth’s surface, while black carbon from fossil fuels absorbs sunlight and raises the temperature of the atmosphere,” adding, “As air pollution has a ‘two-sided coin’ effect on climate change, continuous research is needed.”

Afterward, Dr. Cho Cheon-ho, former head of the National Center for Meteorological Science, delivered a special lecture on “The Story of Human-Earth Coexistence,” followed by a dialogue with the audience.

In the “Empathy Talk on Fine Dust” between experts and Gyeonggi Province residents, Julian Quintart, a Belgian broadcaster and EU Goodwill Ambassador for Climate Action, Cha Sung-soo, Gyeonggi Province Director General of Climate, Environment and Energy, Choi Jong-min, professor of nanochemistry at Seogyeong University, Park Hee-jae, director of the Siheung Green Environment Support Center, and Kim Hee-ra, a member of the Gyeonggi Province Civil Action Group for Fine Dust Response, participated in a panel discussion. They exchanged opinions on the current state of air quality in Gyeonggi Province, policies to reduce fine dust, the impact of fine dust, technologies to reduce fine dust in daily life, and ways for citizens to take action against climate change.

On September 6, the second day of the event, three sessions will be held: Urban Air Pollutant Management (research on the current status and improvement of air quality in Northeast Asia), Air Pollution and Carbon Neutrality (presentation and panel discussion of research on the relationship between air pollutants and greenhouse gases and carbon neutrality policies), and Air Pollution Management Technology and Data Analysis Techniques (presentation and panel discussion of research on integrated management strategies for ultrafine particulate matter in Northeast Asia).