Seoul, South Korea, (June 5, 2020) - 226* out of 228 South Korean Local Governments declared Climate Emergency at the Korea National Assembly on June 5. During the ceremony, 30 Mayors adopted the “Declaration of Climate Emergency by Local Governments of Korea,” representing all 226 local government leaders who signed on the declaration. It is the biggest in the number of signatories of a single statement having been agreed and endorsed by over 200 local governments amongst the declarations of climate emergency of local governments.
*Among 226 autonomous local governments, 224 have joined except two where the mayoralty is incapable and joined by two non-autonomous local governments like Jeju city and Seoguipo city.
The declaration ceremony was co-organized by the National Association of Mayors of Korea chaired by Yeom Tae-young (Mayor of Suwon and a member of ICLEI Global Executive Committee), Korea Local Governments Alliance for Sustainable Development (KLGSD), Local Government Association for Climate & Energy Transition and ICLEI Korea Office in support with several local government associations in Korea such as Happiness, Life-long Education, Children Friendly Cities, etc., and endorsed by the Ministry of Environment and the National Assembly Forum on Climate Change.
“As proved through the cooperative action model of national and local governments in the COVID-19 pandemic, the role of local governments is crucial in responding to the climate crises that would require a much higher level of cooperation between national and local than the COVID-19,” said Yeom Tae-young, Chairman of the National Association of Mayors. He also said that “This declaration, made in solidarity, will serve as a determinative opportunity for local governments throughout Korea to actively develop and implement measures required to respond to the climate emergency.”
In The declaration, heads of the 226 local governments recognized that humanity faces a climate emergency and promised to establish and implement reduction goals of greenhouse gas emissions to deter the average global temperature increase to within 1.5℃, as recommended by the United Nations and the scientific community. Also, they emphasized that local governments are at the forefront of responses to climate emergencies and disasters seen in the case of the COVID-19 pandemic, and pledged to develop and implement plans to protect those vulnerable to climate disasters. The declaration mainly emphasized 5 points below:
1. We declare that this is a time of climate emergency.
2. We set the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to maintain a global temperature from rising beyond 1.5 degrees celsius and work proactively towards that goal.
3. We urge the national government and National Assembly to promptly proclaim a state of climate emergency and declare their commitment to Carbon Neutrality 2050.
4. We shall expand the use of renewable energies to respond to the climate crisis, establish plans for attaining energy independence, and work for their phased implementation.
5. In partnership with our citizens, we shall arrange an effective institutional system to overcome the crisis of sustainability and operate it responsibly.
226 out of 228, making approximately 98 percent of Korean local governments, participated in this declaration transcending political position and regional backgrounds. Among 1,496 local government climate emergency declarations made in 30 countries across the world as of May 20, 2020, this is the first such climate emergency declaration event to feature over 200 local governments and the largest one to date.
Park Yeon-hee, Director of the ICLEI Korea Office, emphasized that this declaration is significant because it was made amidst the global recognition of local governments’ role in sustainable development. And she said, “ICLEI Korea Office will keep the efforts to help strengthen Korean local governments’ climate actions by integrating them with those of leading local governments across the world.”
ICLEI Korea Office has been actively supporting and encouraging the Korean local governments to join global climate actions and initiatives such as Global Covenant of Mayor on Climate and Energy, ICLEI-CDP unified reporting system, and ICLEI low-carbon programs. Aside from 226 local governments, three provincial & metropolitan governments from the ICLEI network – Chungcheongnam-do (October 2019), Incheon Metropolitan City (April 2020) and Gyeongsangnam-do (June 2020) – declared Climate Emergency before the move of local governments.
