Gwangju Special City seeks ways to achieve carbon neutrality using climate tech

【Financial News, Jeonnam-Gwangju = Reporter Hwang Tae-jong】The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City (Gwangju Special City) is seeking ways to achieve carbon neutrality using climate tech.
 To that end, it will hold the ‘Carbon-Neutral Industrial Sector Consultative Body Forum’ together with the Jeonnam Carbon Neutrality Support Center at 2 p.m. on the 28th at Greenwich Hall, Utop Marina Hotel in Yeosu.
 The ‘Carbon-Neutral Industrial Sector Consultative Body’ was launched in July 2023 to promote voluntary greenhouse gas reductions and the energy transition in industry. It has 34 participating organizations and companies: eight public institutions, including Gwangju Special City, the Yeongsan River Basin Environmental Office and the Korea Environment Corporation, and 26 companies, including POSCO Gwangyang Works, GS Caltex’s Yeosu Plant and LG Chem. Through regular meetings and forums, members have shared carbon-neutral policies, technologies and best practices, and discussed ways to address difficulties faced by businesses.
 Lee Sang-bae, director of Gwangju Special City’s Climate and Environment Bureau, emphasized, “Carbon neutrality in the industrial sector is a major challenge that will determine the sustainability and competitiveness of regional industries. Alongside technological innovation, voluntary participation by businesses and close cooperation among institutions are important.” 
 The forum will share domestic and international trends in climate-tech technology and industry, as well as best practices in carbon reduction, and explore ways to transition to decarbonization that can be applied to regional industries.
 First, Park Cheol-ho, a division head at the National Institute of Green Technology, will deliver a keynote presentation on ‘Domestic and International Climate-Tech Industry and Policy Trends and Directions for Industrial Decarbonization.’ Cho Seung-hee, director of the Climate AI and Energy Research Lab at the Jeonnam Research Institute, will present on ‘The Current State and Future Direction of Climate-Tech Industry Development.’
 In the subsequent panel discussion, six experts, including Kim Do-yong, a professor at Mokpo National University, will discuss ‘Strategies and Challenges for Decarbonizing the Industrial Sector Using Climate Tech,’ focusing on the potential for applying climate tech in industrial settings and support and cooperation measures to help businesses make the transition.
 Lee Sang-bae, director of the Climate and Environment Bureau, said, “Based on the views presented at this forum, we will identify collaborative projects suited to regional industry conditions and review effective support measures aligned with businesses’ needs.”

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