Suwon City Sets Goal to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions by 680,000 Tons This Year

In preparation for increasingly serious abnormal climate phenomena, Suwon City announced on the 31st that it plans to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 680,000 tons this year.

The city held a progress report meeting on greenhouse gas reduction efforts and conducted mid-term reviews of 58 individual projects.

Based on 2005 emission levels of 6.03 million tons, the city plans to achieve reductions of 40% by 2030 in the long term, 20% by 2020 in the medium term, and 5% by 2015 in the short term, respectively.

To achieve this goal, the city is implementing 58 individual projects across nine sectors—including carbon absorption sources, renewable energy, and high-efficiency equipment—under three major environmental capital objectives: a nature-friendly environmental city, a low-carbon green city safe from climate change, and a governance city with citizen participation.

The city explained that the reduction effect of 680,000 tons this year corresponds to the amount of greenhouse gases absorbed by 91.89 million pine trees over one year.

Lee Jae-jun, Vice Mayor, stated, "According to the 2005 Kyoto Protocol on mandatory greenhouse gas reduction, advanced countries have already implemented mandatory greenhouse gas reduction policies, and Korea will be included among obligated reduction nations starting in 2020." He added, "Greenhouse gas reduction is no longer a mere environmental slogan but an international responsibility and obligation."