Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, Korean Society on Climate Change co-host special forum on carbon neutrality
The Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, an agency under the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, said it will co-host a two-day special forum with the Korean Society on Climate Change at Sejong University in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, beginning Thursday. The forum is themed "New International Statistical Accounting Standards for Carbon Neutrality Implementation: Global Trends and Response Strategies."
The event was organized to help Korea adapt to new statistical accounting standards being introduced by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and to share recent research on future emissions reduction measures and carbon sinks needed to meet the country's 2035 nationally determined contribution targets.
Major research institutions and universities are participating, including the Korea Meteorological Administration, the National Institute of Environmental Research, the National Air Emission Inventory and Research Center, the National Institute of Forest Science, Gangwon National University and Kookmin University. Participants will share international trends and explore domestic response strategies.
The forum will cover three core topics: short-lived climate forcers and the integrated management of climate and air quality statistics; carbon dioxide removal, capture, utilization and storage; and land use, land-use change and forestry, with a focus on nature-based carbon sinks.
Under the first topic, discussions will examine international trends in statistical accounting and domestic management approaches for short-lived climate forcers — substances such as black carbon and nitrogen oxides that are both air pollutants and drivers of climate change.
The second topic will focus on monitoring systems covering the full cycle of carbon capture, transport, utilization and storage, as well as ways to establish national statistical standards for these processes.
Experts will gather input on monitoring methods for new carbon removal and absorption technologies expected to be included in IPCC guidelines scheduled for publication in 2027. These include enhanced weathering, which sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide in soil or the ocean in inorganic form, and blue carbon, which refers to carbon absorbed through photosynthesis and stored long-term in anaerobic sediment layers.
Under the third topic, researchers will share findings on improving methods for calculating carbon absorption across various land types, including forests and residential areas, and will propose directions for updating existing national statistical standards. Discussions will also cover expanding carbon sinks to meet the 2035 NDC targets and strengthening cooperation with local governments.
Choi Min-ji, director of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, said the forum "will serve as an important opportunity to effectively link evolving international climate statistical standards with domestic policy." She added that the center will "gather expert input on key tasks — including building an integrated management system for climate and air quality statistics and improving the quality of statistics related to carbon removal and absorption technologies — to enhance the reliability of national statistics and strengthen policy research capacity."
thlee@heraldcorp.com
