South Korea's First Climate Policy Deliberative Forum 'Gyeonggi Province Climate Citizens' Assembly' Launches

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Kim Gab-dong] The 'Gyeonggi Province Climate Citizens' Assembly,' South Korea's first legally established deliberative forum for climate policy using direct democracy, has launched.

The Climate Citizens' Assembly is a deliberative forum for climate crisis response established in accordance with the 'Gyeonggi Province Basic Ordinance on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Climate Crisis Response' that took effect in January.

On the 30th, the province held the launch ceremony of the Climate Citizens' Assembly at the Siheung Eco Center, with Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon and Climate Ambassador Kang Geum-sil in attendance, and commissioned 120 residents as members of the Climate Citizens' Assembly.

In his remarks, Governor Kim said, "This is the day one of my dreams since starting politics has come true," adding, "I had always wanted to try a 'Citizens' Assembly.' I hope it expands beyond climate action to many other areas. My dream is to create a citizens' assembly for all of Gyeonggi Province's administration."

Governor Kim said, "Fortunately, a new administration has now been launched, and the new government is reflecting many policies that Gyeonggi Province is pioneering, including climate policies. Gyeonggi Province will fulfill its role as the primary national policy partner in the success of the new government."

He added, "In particular, in climate action, we will take the lead in supporting the central government and driving change so that South Korea transforms from a 'climate villain nation' to a 'climate leader nation.'"

Kang Geum-sil, former Justice Minister and Gyeonggi Province Climate Ambassador, said, "If Gyeonggi Province's Citizens' Assembly becomes nationwide, our country can truly become a nation implementing exemplary climate policies on the global level," and expressed hopes, stating, "Now that a new government that can be called a 'climate government' has taken office, I believe the policies that the governor has pursued will gain wings."

Governor Kim exchanged diverse questions and opinions with participants on the agenda of the Climate Citizens' Assembly slogan 'South Korea's First Climate Policy Conference Created by Residents.'

The 120 residents commissioned as Climate Citizens' Assembly members will participate in six working groups based on their preferences: △Energy Transition △Climate Equity △Consumption and Resource Circulation △Climate Economy △Urban Ecosystem △Future Generations.

Through their activities until December 15, the members will engage in learning and deliberative discussions on agendas corresponding to each group's focus area. They will identify climate policies with high social consensus and tangible impact, such as expanding renewable energy like solar and wind power and transitioning to eco-friendly industrial structures, and present recommendations to the province. Gyeonggi Province anticipates that concrete climate policy recommendations will be developed through the Citizens' Assembly's democratic opinion gathering and deliberative discussions.

Meanwhile, the province presented the 'Top 10 Climate Agendas Desired by Gyeonggi Province Residents for the New Administration' at this event, based on an online survey of 8,577 residents conducted from June 19 to 23.

The top 10 climate agendas showed that △government organizational restructuring △renewable energy expansion △strengthening global competitiveness received the most responses. Additional agendas selected as priority climate issues for the new government included △activating the circular economy △discovering and fostering carbon-neutral new industries △expanding public participation in climate policy. Among these, the province is already implementing eight initiatives: the establishment of a Climate and Environment Energy Bureau, Gyeonggi RE100, the elimination of single-use items and promotion of reusable containers, and discovery and fostering of climate tech startups.

■ How Were Climate Citizens' Assembly Members Selected?

From June 9 to 20, Gyeonggi Province recruited members through both applications via the Climate Action Opportunity Income app and RDD (Random Digit Dialing) telephone methods.

Among 340 respondents who expressed willingness to participate through RDD and 4,159 applicants through the Climate Action Opportunity Income app, the final 120 members were randomly selected considering age, gender, occupation, education, and residence.

The province explained that random selection was used to exclude the possibility of bias toward specific organizations and to ensure fair selection. This is similar to the selection method used by French and British citizens' climate assemblies, which randomly select 150 people considering age, gender, occupation, education, and region. The French and British climate citizens' assemblies are no longer operating as they were temporary organizations.

At this event, Professor Lorraine Whitmarsh from the University of Bath in the UK and Professor Rebecca Willis from Lancaster University in the UK, who had participated in the British Citizens' Climate Assembly, delivered video congratulatory remarks.

Regarding differences with existing climate citizens' meetings, the province explained that the Climate Citizens' Meeting was a temporary organization for establishing the Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Basic Plan, and its activities ended in May of last year.