Government ceremony to be held Monday at Dragon City Seoul in Yongsan-gu; awards to recognize contributors to air quality improvement

Companion events include public talks, an international symposium and environmental education for younger generations

[Instagram of the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office]
[Instagram of the Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office]

A series of events will mark the seventh annual International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies — known in Korea as "Blue Skies Day" and observed every Sept. 7 — the first UN-designated international observance proposed by Korea and also recognized as a national commemorative day.

The Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Saturday that the government ceremony for this year's Blue Skies Day will be held Monday at 1:30 p.m. at Dragon City Seoul in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, under the theme "Action for Climate and Clean Air."

Korea first proposed the observance at the Climate Action Summit held in New York on Sept. 7, 2019. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution designating the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies at its 74th session in December of that year, and Korea designated it a national commemorative day in August 2020.

The ceremony will feature a commemorative address by Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy Minister Kim Sung-hwan, followed by congratulatory remarks from National Assembly Climate, Energy, Environment and Labor Committee Chairman Kim Jeong-ho; Lee Gang-ung, civilian chairman of the Special Committee on Fine Dust; and Li Tianwei, director of the Department of Atmospheric Environment at China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

The program will also include a public talk titled "Malja Show," centered on air quality and climate, and a joint declaration ceremony — "Climate and Air Action Pledge" — involving civic, social and youth organizations as well as about 50 companies and institutions from high-emission industries including steel, cement and petrochemicals.

Participants in the declaration will commit to the "10 Climate Citizen Pledges," a set of promises to reduce air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. Following the ceremony, a high-level Korea-China air environment consultation will be held to discuss bilateral air quality issues.

Five individuals who have contributed to improving air quality will receive government commendations.

Presidential citations will go to Yang Ji-yeon, a research professor at Yonsei University's Institute for Climate, Environment and Health Systems Science; Han Min-ji, head of the Global Legislation Strategy Team at the Korea Legislation Research Institute; and Lee Gyeong-bin, head of the Transportation Environment Division at the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy. Prime ministerial citations will be awarded to Lee Seung-min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Environment Institute, and Kwon Hyeok-hwa, head of the Policy Research Team at SK hynix.

The ministry will also hold a range of companion events alongside the main ceremony.

An international symposium bringing together experts from the public, industry and academia will focus on "Integrated Air Quality Management Centered on Fine Dust and Ozone." A separate environmental education program for youth and adolescents — middle-school age — will be held under the theme "Climate Action Pledges Built Together by Future Generations."

The venue will feature an exhibition and hands-on experience space dedicated to air quality and climate, showcasing technologies and products from relevant agencies and companies working to cut air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions.

Affiliated and subordinate agencies of the ministry, as well as local governments, will also hold their own events.

The Geum River Basin Environmental Office will run an educational session on fine dust and climate change for local daycare centers. The Nakdong River Basin Environmental Office will hold a cooperation agreement signing between large and small businesses and a resource-recycling activity. Busan will host its own ceremony, side events and a policy forum.

"Just as this year's Blue Skies Day theme suggests, creating clean air and responding to the climate crisis is only possible when all of us act together," Kim Sung-hwan said. "We will work to deliver skies that people can feel are genuinely cleaner in their daily lives, while ensuring carbon neutrality is not left as a declaratory goal but translated into real greenhouse gas reductions across energy, transportation, industry and lifestyle."


thlee@heraldcorp.com