'2021 Clean Air International Forum'…Gyeonggi Province Initiates Cooperation with International Organizations

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park No-hun] The '2021 Clean Air International Forum' will be held for four days from September 6 to 9 at Suwon Convention Center under the theme of 'East Asian Clean Air, Turning On a Blue Future ON-AIR.'

Co-hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the United Nations Environment Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Office (UNEP-ROAP), this forum has been organized to build a 'breathing community in East Asia' in response to transnational air pollution, and to enhance cooperation with the international community by sharing Gyeonggi Province's air quality improvement policy achievements.

The forum will see approximately 500 participants joining online, including domestic and international environmental experts from 13 countries, officials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and international organizations, local governments in East Asia (Kawasaki, Japan; Indonesia; and others), academia, and residents.

Starting with a joint opening ceremony at 3 p.m. on September 6, the forum will proceed with an 'Air Quality Awareness Forum' featuring participation from international organizations including UNEP, and will share overseas air quality international cooperation measures and domestic management policy cases.

At the opening ceremony, Dechen Tsering, Director of the UNEP Asia-Pacific Regional Office, and Director Hatakeyama of the Air Pollution Research Asia Center (ACAP) will deliver keynote addresses.

On the second day, as a pre-event for the 'APCAP (Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership) Joint Forum,' the following activities will take place: ▲Gyeonggi residents' clean air roundtable discussion and talk concert ▲Technical consultation related to UNEP Capital Region-Air Quality joint research ▲Domestic and international academic sessions in the air environment field.

On days 3 and 4, the 'APCAP Joint Forum' opening ceremony will be held, and Park Dae-geun, Director of Gyeonggi Province's Fine Dust Response Division, will present on 'Gyeonggi Province-style Fine Dust Reduction Measures: Plans and Achievements.'

The province expects this forum to be a significant occasion for building awareness of the 'East Asian breathing community' by sharing cases of fine dust generation and movement, along with successful improvement policy examples, with neighboring East Asian countries, and by exploring cooperation measures.

Park Sung-nam, Director of Gyeonggi Province's Environmental Division, stated, "The '2021 Clean Air International Forum,' the third such event since 2018, is highly meaningful as a venue where international organizations, local governments in the East Asian region, academia, and citizens come together to pool their expertise and explore cooperation measures to resolve fine dust issues," and added, "We will work to ensure that Gyeonggi Province's air management policies are internationally recognized at this forum, and we will establish international cooperation through sustained exchanges with the Asia-Pacific Clean Air Partnership (APCAP)."

Meanwhile, the province signed a 'UNEP-Capital Region Air Quality Improvement Joint Assessment' agreement in December last year jointly with Seoul, Incheon, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

In accordance with the agreement, the province is making various efforts to enhance its international status as a 'model region for air management,' including participating in research projects that objectively evaluate Capital Region air quality improvement efforts and achievements during 2021-2022 and share excellent air environment policies with the international community.