Event to cover climate policy participation for future generations and everyday green practices

Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o. [Nowon-gu]
Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o. [Nowon-gu]

Seoul's Nowon-gu will host the "2026 Nowon Carbon Neutrality Citizens' Declaration" on Sept. 5, bringing together about 800 residents to affirm their commitment to addressing the climate crisis and pursuing carbon neutrality, the district announced Friday.

The event, themed "From Climate Crisis to Climate Justice," is organized by the Nowon Carbon Neutrality Citizens' Council and the Nowon Environment Foundation, with participation from 33 local institutions — including youth centers, welfare centers and civic organizations — as well as 19 neighborhood self-governing councils.

The main program begins at 10 a.m., with participants marching from Nowon Station intersection to the Nowon-gu office while chanting the 10 carbon neutrality agenda items. After the march, residents will take the podium in a relay declaration of those 10 items, which include expanding climate policy participation for future generations such as youth and young adults; guaranteeing workers' right to stop and rest during heat waves; supporting urban solar power; expanding the use of reusable containers and eco-friendly stores; incorporating carbon neutrality budgets into Nowon-gu festivals; spreading waste-free elections and a carbon-neutral political culture; and completing a carbon-neutral model city through resident participation.

Nowon-gu is the only district in the Greater Seoul area designated a carbon neutrality model city by the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport in 2024. The district is pursuing carbon neutrality policies across all urban sectors, including construction, energy, transportation and resource recycling. It has particularly identified the building sector — which accounts for about 75 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions — as a key area for reduction, with a target of cutting 350,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2034. The district also built the country's first zero-energy housing complex, the EZ Center, and plans to launch a green remodeling program for aging public buildings next year. A campaign banning single-use cups inside district offices is also underway.

"We will work together with residents across all urban sectors — construction, energy, transportation and resource recycling — to create real change and build Nowon into a carbon-neutral model city that represents the nation," District Mayor Seo Jun-o said.


ikson@heraldcorp.com