Korea University: KU holds a seminar on international transferred mitigation outcomes to tackle climate change
Korea University (President Chung Jin Taek) Global Research Institute (GRI) and the Center for Climate and Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLAP) (Director Chung Sug-yong) held a seminar on international transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) for the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Climate Agreement and nationally determined contribution (NDC) at 3 pm on Thursday, May 12. Korea University Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance hosted this event in cooperation with Korea Legislation Research Institute (KLRI), Korea University Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance under the GRI, Seoul International Law Academy Center for Climate and Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLAP), and the Korean Society of Climate Change Research.
The seminar was a forum for preeminent experts from home and abroad and government officials at related ministries to provide correct information on Article 6 of the Paris Climate Agreement and discuss how to use the provisions to attain Korea’s emissions reduction target.
The opening address by KLRI President Kim Kye-hong was followed by the welcoming speech of Yoon Jong-su, advisor to the CSDLAP and former deputy environment minister of Korea, and the congratulatory messages of Kim Sang-hyeop, president of Jeju Research Institute, and Noh Dong-woon, president of the Korean Society for Climate Change.
Korea University Professor and CSDLAP Director Jeong Seo-yong explained the aim of the seminar and ITMO policies and issues in Korea, stressing the importance of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, among other things.
Andrei Marcu, head of the European Roundtable on Climate Change and Sustainable Transition (ERCST), and Suzi Kerr, Chief Economist at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), were the keynote speakers.
ㅇAndrei Marcu, a well-known negotiator for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, explained Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including its recently agreed rules.
ㅇDuring her presentation of “Effective Investment in Korea’s Mitigation Efforts in Developing Countries and Application of Article 6,” Suzi Kerr argued that large-scale government-to-government contracts to support ‘jurisdictional’ mechanisms and finance and capacity flows are necessary to combine the Article 6 mechanism and climate development finance in developing countries.
In the subsequent roundtable session, Han Min-yeong, Deputy Director-General for Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Scientific Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Choi Seong-yo, Director of Communications and Cooperation at the Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Commission, Kim Do-heon, head of Greenhouse Gas International Transferred Mitigation Outcomes Team at the Ministry of Industry, Park Yeong-hwan, Director of Overseas Resources at the Korea Forest Service, Heo Hye-in, head of Climate Change and International Cooperation Team at the Ministry of Environment, Jeong Ji-won, team head at the International Development Cooperation Center of Korea Institute for Foreign Economic Policy, and Jang Eun-hye, head of the Climate Change Legislation Team at the Korea Legislation Research Institute shared their views as panelists.
Professor Chung Sug-yong of KU College of International Studies, who was in charge of organizing this event, said, “KU GRI Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance and co-hosting organizations hope that this first forum will be an opportunity to examine the current policies of the Korean government to achieve the nation’s reduction target and help stakeholders, including government officials, better understand what to improve for the implementation, thereby contributing to accomplishing Korea’s climate change response goals through ITMOs.” After this first forum, the co-hosts will hold three more forums this year, with the aim of contributing to policy development and enhancing citizens’ understanding of related issues by providing a platform for discussions among international and domestic experts on key issues for the development and implementation of carbon neutrality policies.
The co-hosts also plan to hold a forum on the Biden government’s climate change cooperation, carbon neutrality, and green official development assistance (ODA), as well as on the results of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) taking place later this year.