The international workshop, Transformation to Climate Proof Society, was hosted by National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Science and the Korean Environment Institute on 24th July in Seoul. Merlin Lao, Program Manager of ICLEI East Asia, was invited to deliver a speech on local governments’ climate actions in the “international efforts towards climate-proof society” session.

During the welcome ceremony, Kwang Kook Park, President of the Korean Environment Institute, sent his best wishes for the workshop. Eun Bong Kang, Secretary-General of the National Research Council for Economics, Humanities and Social Science (NRC), addressed the importance of the cooperation between international and domestic organizations for the transformation toward a climate-proof society. Congratulatory remarks were given by Byungok Ahn, Vice Korean Minister of Environment, and Young Sook Yoo, the former Korean Minister of Environment.

 

 

The workshop consisted of two main sessions. In the first session, which focused on the international efforts toward a climate-proof society, three speakers shared their experiences working in Europe and the East Asia region. Merlin Lao shared ICLEI’s experiences on local climate action projects and demonstrated the collaboration between local governments through ICLEI’s programs. His sharing was preceded by two experienced experts; Professor Kevin Hicks, Deputy Director of Stockholm Environment Institute, demonstrated the research result regarding the relationship between air pollution and the benefit of greenhouse gas mitigation in the near term. Dr. Alexander Fisher, the Advisor of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, explained Germany’s 2050 Climate Action Plan.

The second session focused on Korea’s pathway towards a climate-proof society. Experts from the Korean Environment Institute, the Korea Energy Economics Institute, and the Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs interacted to address issues on the importance of multi-sectoral integration in the process of transformation, long-term energy, and GHG emission outlook in the country, and climate change health impacts.

Through this workshop, ICLEI East Asia and the Korean Environment Institue have expressed interest to extend further cooperation in the field of climate change.