Climate Governor Kim Meets Climate Mentor Al Gore for Global Cooperation to Overcome Climate Crisis

○ Nearly 1,000 green business leaders and youth activists attend Seoul Climate Reality Leadership Training held at KINTEX on August 19 ...

○ Nearly 1,000 green business leaders and youth activists attend Seoul Climate Reality Leadership Training held at KINTEX on August 19

○ Governor Kim participates in panel discussion “Moving Beyond Fossil Fuels: Government Leadership on Renewable Energy Development”; meets former US Vice President Al Gore and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee to explain Gyeonggi's RE100 initiatives and its resolve to overcome climate crisis

○ Governor Kim draws attention by suggesting three climate challenges and solutions, including awareness and preparation for “climate divide”

Gyeonggi Province Governor Dong Yeon Kim suggested three solutions to overcome the climate crisis: consistency in new and renewable energy policies unaffected by changes in government, deregulation for new and renewable energy industries, and resolution of the divide caused by varying capabilities of stakeholders to respond to climate change.

Governor Kim made these remarks at the Climate Reality Leadership Training held at KINTEX, Goyang City, on August 19 as an invited participant in the panel discussion “Moving Beyond Fossil Fuels: Government Leadership on Renewable Energy Development,” representing a local government.

Former US Vice President Al Gore, a globally renowned climate mentor, and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee (US) also attended the event and discussed how to overcome the climate crisis with Governor Kim.

The host of the event, The Climate Reality Project, is a non-governmental group founded by Al Gore in 2006 in order to train climate leaders, raise climate change awareness and transition to renewable energy.

In a brief conversation before the main event, Governor Kim told former Vice President Gore and Governor Inslee: “As national governments change with elections and some new governments may be less active in tackling climate change, I believe local governments must play a greater role. Gyeonggi Province is a pioneer in tackling climate change, as showcased by its first-of-a-kind RE100 declaration and efforts to turn this declaration into real actions. I also believe international cooperation is important in this course, and that is why I have met with the ambassadors of many different countries and talked about how to work together on climate issues.”

Governor Inslee said: “It’s always inspiring to meet with leaders of states and provinces who recognize the urgency of moving beyond oil and gas as well as the economic and job opportunities in clean energy. We have much to learn and share with one another. I look forward to continued collaboration as Gyeonggi Province and the Republic of Korea take action in the fight against climate change.” In the panel discussion session moderated by Governor Inslee and attended by South Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Tae-heum and Korean National Assembly Member Han Jeoung-ae, Governor Kim drew the attention of the audience by identifying three climate challenges—uncertainty caused by changes in government, regulations, and the climate divide—suggesting solutions in response to a question about obstacles and solutions to renewable energy development.

Governor Kim said: “The first challenge I want to mention is abrupt change in climate policies due to changes in government. At least in Gyeonggi Province, I want to ensure that pledges to strongly support climate policies are fully honored regardless of changes in government so as to lay the groundwork for the growth of new and renewable energy industries.”

He continued with the second challenge, taking a current solar panel distancing requirement as an example of regulations, and said: “Simply lifting this distancing regulation will double the area available for solar power generation in Gyeonggi Province. The provincial government will start by actively easing provincial regulations that are under its control.”

He also compared the climate divide to the digital divide that emerged with the rapid development of the information industry, saying: “Like the polarization between those who can afford to adapt to new IT technologies quickly and those who cannot, I think the same divide will appear with regard to climate change.”

He added, “Some SMEs and smaller businesses that fail to take appropriate emission reduction measures will be unable to export their products in a few years. Gyeonggi Province will act preemptively to tackle polarization caused by climate change, informing these businesses and energy-vulnerable groups and assisting them with their preparations.”

Governor Inslee expressed his agreement with Governor Kim’s point about the climate divide, calling it a “particularly important point.”

In response to local-level efforts for more renewable energy production, Governor Kim introduced the disposable cup ban implemented at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government complex, the industrial RE100 campaign and assistance for the adoption of more solar panels by industrial complexes, and the RE100 platform that the province is developing to identify and highlight carbon emissions, potential renewable energy generation, and other information comprehensively.

To nearly 1,000 young green activists who attended the event, Governor Kim advised: “We must actively seize the opportunity found in the climate crisis and make it a game changer for the Korean economy. Moving a step forward from simply responding to climate change, we need to take preemptive measures, stimulate relevant industries on a global level, and make the most out of this opportunity to shift the paradigm and reform economic structure. Let’s start by taking small actions.”

A meeting organized by the ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability took place on the sidelines of this conference. It was attended by former US Vice President Gore and Governor Kim, as well as by Phyllis Cuttino, CEO and President of The Climate Reality Project, Park Yeon-hee, Director of the ICLEI Korea Office, Kim Kyung-il, Mayor of Paju City, Park Seung-won, Mayor of Gwangmyeong City, and Park Woo-ryang, Mayor of Shinan County.