- Providing a venue for the discussion on climate change response and strategies to implement the SDGs –

1. On May 20, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Environment co-hosted the 『Strategy for Green Transformation and Cooperation for Carbon Neutrality and Achieving SDGs』 with the National Assembly Forum on Climate Change and the Global Green Growth Institute.

° This international seminar was organized in cooperation with related government agencies and private organizations to raise public awareness and encourage participation in the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, the first multilateral environmental Summit to be hosted by the Republic of Korea on May 30-31.

※ Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) is a multilateral initiative aimed at achieving green growth and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 through global public-private cooperation. Twelve partner countries including the Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Denmark are a part of the initiative, and the P4G summits are held biennially.

° Yu Eui-Dong, Representative member of the National Assembly Forum on Climate Change, Han Jeoung Ae, Minister of Environment, and Choi Jongmoon, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended the seminar. Ban Ki-moon, President and Chair of the Global Green Growth Institute, and Kim Sanghee, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, delivered congratulatory addresses via video.

2. Minister Han reiterated that climate change response must be pursued in the context of sustainable development, and reaffirmed that the Ministry of Environment will help local governments establish plans to achieve carbon neutrality without leaving organizations behind and will increase green finance to encourage voluntary participation from the private sector.

3. Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Choi Jongmoon stressed that governments, businesses, and civil society should work together to foster innovation and bring about change to ultimately achieve carbon neutrality, as carbon neutrality is not just an environmental goal but has emerged as an economic, social, and security issue.

° As the year 2021 is the first year the international community begins its actions to implement the Paris Agreement, which is the foundation for the new climate system, Vice Minister Choi highlighted the further significance of the P4G Seoul Summit held in the same year. He also noted that the Summit will serve as an opportunity for various actors in the international community to reconfirm and unite their commitment to carbon neutrality.

4. The participants from home and abroad including governments, businesses, civil society, research institutions, and younger generations, attended the seminar and discussed global strategies and response measures that link the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) and SDGs as well as ways to strengthen and expand public-private partnerships for a sustainable society.