[Suwon = The Weekly Citizen Square] By Jonggun Jo — Gyeonggi Province is moving decisively to share its climate crisis response model with the international community, stepping up its role as a local government climate leader. 2025 Clean Air International Forum, held September 2 at the Gyeonggi Hybrid Town, served both as a commemoration of Blue Skies Day and as a stage for Gyeonggi to unveil three years’ worth of accumulated climate policy experience on the world stage.
Background – The Climate Crisis, Clean Air, and the Need for Global Solidarity
Air pollution and climate change do not stop at borders. Just as emissions from neighboring countries like China, Japan, and Mongolia directly impact South Korea’s air quality, The climate crisis, too, is not merely a local issue for any one region. In light of this, Gyeonggi Province has, since the UN designated Blue Skies Day(September 7) in 2020, consistently created forums for cooperation among Asia-Pacific regional governments and international agencies.
Now in its seventh iteration, this year’s forum brought together members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, UNEP, UN ESCAP, IUAPPA, ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability), WHO, friendly provinces in East Asia such as Jiangsu, Guangdong, Saitama, and Ulaanbaatar, as well as domestic figures including Climate Ambassador of Gyeonggi Province Kang Geum-sil and youth climate activists—affirming both international solidarity and intergenerational cooperation.
(Originally, ICLEI stood for the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, but the organization officially changed its name to ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability in 2003 to better reflect its broader mission.)
Achievements – Gyeonggi’s Climate Policies as a National First
In his opening address, Governor Kim Dong-yeon laid out Gyeonggi’s flagship climate-policy milestones in detail:
Public Sector RE100: “Since declaring RE100 in 2023, we pledged that 28 affiliated public institutions would be fully powered by renewables. As soon as this year’s end, both the provincial government offices and all associated public bodies will have achieved RE100. This will be a first in South Korea.”
Climate Action Basic Income: “Over 1.5 million people have enrolled in our app-based participation plan. The greenhouse gas reductions over the past year equal the effect of planting approximately 2.45 million trees.”
Climate Satellite: “We are making South Korea’s first atuploadt of its kind for a province. The Gyeonggi climate satellite is on track, with launch scheduled for November.”
Climate Fund: “We have selected candidate sites for power plants; the fund structure will expand renewable energy, enable companies to use RE100, and allow residents to share in fund returns—a triple benefit.”
Climate Insurance: “Within four months of its launch, 6,500 claims have been paid, 91% of them to climate-vulnerable groups. This is a step toward closing the climate equity gap and building a health and safety net.”
Also featured was a symbolic performance: clean air from each of Gyeonggi’s regions was collected in balloons and handed to children in a ceremony transmitting the message that “clean air is an asset to be passed to future generations.”
Voices — Experts, Youth, and Multigenerational Dialogue
Kim Si-young, Chair of Gyeonggi Provincial Council’s Urban Environment Committee, said, “The climate crisis is a problem that transcends borders, and cooperation across generations is essential.” He pledged continued council support.
Ambassador Kang Geum-sil stressed, “Air pollution comes from fossil-fuel‑driven industrial civilization. We must approach this integrally—not just clean air, but biodiversity, ecosystem health, human health all together.”
In his keynote, Professor Choe Jae-chun (social biologist) added, “Without ecological transition, we cannot overcome the climate crisis.” Choe urged a fundamental paradigm shift to ensure the coexistence of humanity and the natural world.
Youth climate activist Kim Seo-kyung shared her experience engaging in climate litigation, and together with Professor Choe and Kim Hye-ae of the Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Institute, they expanded the intergenerational dialogue and mutual understanding.
Outlook — Toward ‘Glocal Climate Governance’ by Gyeonggi
This forum is being seen as a launchpad for Gyeonggi Province not merely as a local government, but as an actor in “glocal” climate governance—local implementation with global reach.
Going forward, Gyeonggi plans to strengthen its international climate leadership by: conducting joint research on air quality improvement; collaborating on policy and technology with international organizations; institutionalizing climate policies with strong public participation.
Governor Kim affirmed, “Over the past three years, Gyeonggi has stood firm in its climate crisis response. From now on, we will share our experiences and data freely—not just across Korea, but with the world—to lead climate action globally.”
Reporter’s Perspective
The heart of climate action must rest on two pillars: “ecological transition” and “citizen participation.” As Professor Choe emphasized, without a paradigm shift toward coexistence between humans and nature, sustainability is merely aspirational. With climate basic income, climate insurance, and the public RE100 initiative, Governor Kim is testing the model of participatory governance. Yet these experiments must move beyond symbolic events and integrate into institutional frameworks to endure. Climate leadership is not declared—it is designed and delivered. How Gyeonggi institutionalizes these efforts will be a key indicator of the capacity of Korea’s local governments in climate policymaking.
Transparency Notice｜The author of this article, Jonggun Jo, also serves as Executive Director of the Korea Civil Society Design and is actively involved in civic movements aimed at advancing environmental protection, democratic governance, and legal reform at the local level.
