Gyeonggi Province Holds 8th Clean Air International Forum...Seeking Joint Response in Asia-Pacific Region

Gyeonggi Province discussed cooperation measures to jointly address climate crisis and air pollution with local governments and international organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 27th that it held the '8th Clean Air International Forum 2026' with the attendance of approximately 200 people including domestic and international local governments, international organizations, experts, and provincial residents.

The forum, held under the theme 'Air·Beyond·Climate,' included participation from local governments of four regions in three countries—Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces in China, Kampot Province in Cambodia, and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia—as well as officials from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) and the World Health Organization's Asia-Pacific Centre for Environmental Health (WHO ACE).

Governor Choo Mi-ae defined the climate crisis as a matter of social inequality beyond natural disasters in her opening remarks, emphasizing that nations and regions that have benefited from industrialization by emitting more greenhouse gas must bear greater responsibility.

Governor Choo stated, "Even with the same heat waves and torrential rains, children, elderly people, those in poor health, and economically disadvantaged people suffer greater damage first," and "the climate crisis is both a crisis of nature and a crisis that reveals the inequalities of our society."

She continued, "Climate justice is not a matter of charity to help difficult countries and people, but rather a matter of fairly dividing the responsibility for growth and reversing the burden left to future generations," and added, "Gyeonggi Province will take the lead in action for cleaner air, safer climate, and a better future."

Governor Choo introduced Gyeonggi Province's climate justice policy cases, including the 'Gyeonggi Solar Village,' which returns solar power generation profits to residents, the 'Gyeonggi Climate Insurance,' which covers health damage to provincial residents caused by climate disasters, and the 'Gyeonggi Climate Platform,' which integrates climate, energy, and environment data.

At the forum, Park Tae-woong, chairman of the Green Forum, delivered a keynote speech on the topic 'AI Rewriting Carbon Governance.' This was followed by an insight session addressing 'Climate and Air Quality: One Crisis' and an international session discussing policy cases and cooperation methods among Asia-Pacific local governments.

Experts participating in the insight session examined the connections between climate change and air quality, as well as the impact of climate, air quality, and artificial intelligence on daily life, including increased electricity demand and carbon emissions from the expansion of AI data centers.

In the international session, local government officials from China, Cambodia, and Mongolia shared their regional climate and air quality policies. Officials from UN ESCAP, WHO ACE, and Cambodia's Ministry of Environment discussed cooperation strategies among local governments and air quality monitoring tasks to improve air quality in Asia-Pacific cities and strengthen climate resilience.

Prior to the forum, Gyeonggi Province operated a 'Gyeonggi Province Climate Crisis and Air Pollution Reduction Best Policy Dissemination Cooperation Program' with UN ESCAP over two days starting from the 25th. Participants visited Gyeonggi Province's climate and air quality policy sites and explored policies applicable to each region and joint cooperation projects.

Gyeonggi Province plans to expand cooperation with international organizations and Asia-Pacific local governments going forward, and to jointly address climate crisis and air pollution issues by sharing air quality improvement experience and data-based climate policies.