(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on May 21)

Climate: A hot issue

The third meeting of mayors from around the world committed to taking action
against climate change, C40 Large Cities Climate Summit Seoul, comes to a close
today with the adoption of the Seoul Declaration.

Climate change, once dismissed by many as bugaboo promoted by scientists, has
become a hot issue gripping the attention of the general public as well as world
leaders. In his key-note speech at the summit, Bill Clinton, a former U.S.
president and the founder of the Clinton Climate Initiative, warned that the
world could face fatal situations if we cannot reduce greenhouse gases by 80
percent by 2050.
While state-level actions are important, efforts to battle climate change at the
city-level are also crucial because cities produce the lion's share of emissions.
In fact, the largest cities around the world consume 75 percent of world's energy
and produce 80 percent of its greenhouse gases. The forecast that most of the
world's delta regions - home to many metropolises - are directly threatened by
climate change surely adds to the sense of urgency felt by the mayors and
delegates from the 80 cities that gathered in Seoul.
The Seoul metropolitan government has been stridently promoting green values and
a green lifestyle that will result in the reduction of carbon emissions. In 2007,
it issued the "Eco-Friendly Energy Declaration," an ambitious plan to reduce
energy consumption by 12 percent, compared to 2000, by the year 2010. The plan
also envisions a 15 percent reduction by the year 2020.
However, statistics show that energy consumption has been rising annually,
putting Seoul further behind its goal with each passing year. The plan to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions suffers from the same problem. The goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from the 1990 level by 2010 seems all but
impossible at this point. Barring some drastic change in the energy consumption
trend, the 25 percent reduction goal by 2020 also seems unfeasible. Clearly, the
Seoul metropolitan government needs to review its goals soon and make adjustments
for the plan to have any effect.
One area where the city may still meet its goal is in the utilization of
renewable energy. As of 2007, renewable sources, such as solar energy, accounted
for 1.1 percent of all energy consumption in the city. The Seoul metropolitan
government is optimistic that it will be able to meet the 2 percent goal by next
year. The recent completion of the city's first hydrogen fuel cell power plant is
an important step in the expanded use of alternative forms of energy.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon - who came to stardom as a lawyer when he took on a case
involving apartment residents' right to sunlight - is a staunch advocate of
environmental causes. However, some recent city hall initiatives, such as Hangang
Renaissance project that aims to transform the Han riverbanks into a series of
parks, have been criticized for damaging the environment.
The fact that Seoul is leading the way in taking action against climate change is
laudable. However, the city government must make sure that its various goals and
grand projects are more than mere showcases.
(END)