Prime Minister Han Seung-soo |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Prime Minister Han Seung-soo Monday called on lawmakers to join the global campaign to stop climate change, saying that otherwise, ``there will be no future for us."
Since President Lee Myung-bak unveiled low-carbon, green growth as a major policy agenda last year, Han has spread the gospel of eco-friendly growth to political leaders and government officials whenever he has a chance to promote the drive.
Han served as a special U.N. envoy on climate change for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007.
``The entire globe's dependency on fossil fuels such as coals and oil has prompted us to face the threat of climate change,'' observed the prime minister.
Speaking at a meeting of lawmakers of the Grand National Party (GNP) and pro-ruling party politicians, Han touted the benefits of the low-carbon, green growth strategy.
``We've achieved remarkable economic growth over the past decades. But the conventional industrialization model reveals limitations as a guiding light to the future. Now is the time to look to a new growth paradigm, and there is no doubt that green growth is the one,'' said Han.
Stressing green growth is a must, not an option, the prime minister pointed out the devastating effects of global warming.
``Over the past 10,000 years, the average temperature of the globe has gone up by 1 degree Celsius, and three quarters were during the last 150 years. And sea levels have gone up by 10 to 25 centimeters as a result of climate change,'' he said.
Han urged lawmakers to join the global effort to stop global warming, stressing that ``the temperature of the Earth will go up 6.4 degrees Celsius in the next 90 years unless we do something about it.''
He called for an active role of the legislature in setting the vision in place in the country at the meeting prepared by the GNP to educate its lawmakers and politicians for their better understanding of major growth strategies pursued by President Lee.
Earlier, Lee pledged to spend 50 trillion won over the next three years to put the so-called Green New Deal in place in the nation.
Han described it as a dual goal project designed for job creation and revitalizing the economy, calling for the community's raising awareness of the campaign.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
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