K-eco helps with carbon neutral goals

The Korea Environment Cooperation (K-eco) is creating an organization designed to help meet the country's carbon neutral goals. The new ACT Center, meaning “assist, consulting and together,” will provide guidance to local governments to...

Korea Environment Corporation's climate and air pollution director Yu Seung-do speaks during ACT Center’s opening ceremony held at President Hotel in central Seoul on Thursday. [KOREA ENVIRONMENT CORPORATION]

The Korea Environment Cooperation (K-eco) is creating an organization designed to help meet the country's carbon neutrality goals.

K-eco is a government-affiliated institute under the Ministry of Environment.

The new ACT Center, meaning “assist, consulting and together,” will provide guidance to local governments to accomplish Korea’s goal to bring the nation's greenhouse emissions down to 60 percent of 2018 levels by 2030. The goal, named the Nationally Determined Contribution, was set voluntarily by each participating member of the Paris Agreement.

ACT Center’s key roles include supporting 243 local governments across the country to set goals for carbon neutrality, advising them on implementation strategies for the set goals and enhancing cooperation between government agencies.

Korea passed the Carbon Neutrality Act in September 2021 to have all 243 local governments establish basic plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 and conduct progress inspections every year.

Korea and some 50 nations convened in Seoul for the P4G Summit and jointly pledged to have all of their local governments carbon neutral by 2050.

“The ACT Center will serve as a control tower that supports the local and central government’s carbon neutrality goals,” K-eco Chairman Ahn Byung-ok said.

BY SOHN DONG-JOO [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]