Acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo emphasized the need for international cooperation to respond to the global climate crisis at the United Nations (UN) climate summit.
According to the Prime Minister's Office on the 24th, Acting Prime Minister Han noted during the UN climate summit held via video conference from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. the previous night that, "The international community is facing a complex crisis due to heat waves, floods, and rising sea levels, leading to food security issues, economic inequalities, and regional conflicts."
Acting Prime Minister Han stated, "We must solidify international cooperation and multilateralism centered around the Paris Agreement," adding that, "Our government is preparing a challenging yet achievable national greenhouse gas reduction target for 2035 based on international scientific responsibility."
He continued, stating, "We aim to submit this in September after an extensive public discussion process," and added that, "In order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, we plan to increase the share of carbon-free energy sources such as renewable energy, nuclear power, and clean hydrogen from the current 39% to over 70% by 2038."
He also mentioned that, "We are promoting international cooperation to expand clean energy through the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) initiative," and that, "We will continue to expand climate and green cooperation with developing countries."
Acting Prime Minister Han announced that South Korea will hold a ceremony on June 5 to mark World Environment Day. He also introduced plans to seek global cooperation measures to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and plastic pollution.
Meanwhile, the meeting was co-hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and UN Secretary-General António Guterres to establish the national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) for 2035 and to rally global climate action.