The Delegation of the European Union to the Republic of Korea and Korea University's Center for International Climate and Ocean Governance discussed decarbonization strategies aimed at advancing the green transition while strengthening industrial competitiveness.
The EU Delegation said on the 21st that the Korea-EU High-Level Green Transition and Climate Forum was held the previous day at Korea University's SK Future Hall. The forum was held as part of EU Green Diplomacy Week ahead of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31). Attendees included EU Ambassador to Korea Ugo Astuto and Caroline Edery, deputy head of unit at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Climate Action, along with about 200 officials from the Korean government, industry, academia and civil society.
Astuto and other speakers stressed the importance of solidarity between the EU and Korea in climate action and the green transition. Edery and Yoo Yong-ho, head of the international environment and development agreements team at the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, outlined the EU's and Korea's respective approaches to decarbonization and electrification. The two then discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between Korea and the EU in the green transition.
A green transition roundtable moderated by Chung Suh-yong, director of Korea University's Center for International Climate and Ocean Governance, took up domestic and international challenges facing the two sides ahead of COP31. Arnaud Devauge, environmental policy specialist at the U.N. Development Programme's Seoul Policy Centre, and Kim Joo-jin, chief executive of Solutions for Our Climate, addressed agenda items including clean power generation and the phasedown of fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases).
In the final session, Cho Young-joon, president of the Sustainability Management Institute at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), and Philippe van Hoof, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Korea (ECCK), presented industry perspectives on reconciling the green transition with industrial competitiveness. Panelists exchanged views on trends in Korea's heat pump, battery and mobility sectors, as well as EU efforts to electrify manufacturing processes.