1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs held the “ASEAN-Republic of Korea Carbon Dialogue” workshop with around 40 climate change experts from 10 ASEAN member states in a virtual format on the morning of November 4.

o At the ASEAN-ROK Commemorative Summit held in Busan in 2019, the ROK and ASEAN members had agreed to look forward to possibility of the creation of the “ASEAN-ROK Carbon Dialogue” aimed at sharing policies and know-how regarding carbon pricing and facilitating cooperation between the two sides.

2. As countries will start to implement the Paris Agreement in earnest from next year to respond to the global climate crisis and more countries are announcing their carbon neutrality goals, the ROK and ASEAN member states, through this workshop, shared experiences and developments in carbon pricing which is being implemented in the ROK, ASEAN, and the European Union, and discussed in-depth plans to pursue cooperation projects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

o Alistair Ritchie, an expert in emissions trading system at the Asia Society, compared the ROK and the EU’s emissions trading systems and stressed that the ROK which took the lead in introducing and stabilizing the emissions trading system could become an exemplary model for ASEAN countries that are considering the introduction of the system.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will finalize the framework and detailed implementation plans for the ASEAN-ROK Carbon Dialogue through additional consultations with ASEAN countries, and seek to carry out cooperation projects for greenhouse gas reduction from next year.