Climate Change Ambassador Calls for Change in Lifestyle
By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
Forty-seven years ago, former U.S. President John F. Kennedy said during his inaugural address, ``Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.''
That's what Climate Change Ambassador Chung Rae-kwon asked people to do in combating climate change, ``Don't ask the government to handle it. Change your lifestyle to reduce carbon gas emissions.''
Consensus is forming that the Earth is getting warmer, and human activities are to be blamed. And globally, growing concern over what can happen as a consequence propels people ― from first-grade students to CEOs of business firms ― to take action on a personal level.
However, ``Koreans seriously fall short on consciousness about climate change,'' Chung pointed out. ``People must stop driving big cars. And if you still ask what's the problem with fueling gas out of my pocket? That's a problem.''
Without public consciousness and consensus, he said, the government will be obstructed from proceeding with climate change policies.
For example, ``Korea may need a higher congestion charge system on highways near Seoul to ease traffic jams and to encourage people to use more public transportation. But how can the government do it with ferocious public opposition? The government doesn't want to trigger a third round of candle-lit protests,'' he said.
He stated the business sector, often blamed as the main greenhouse gas emitter, would do something, but their efforts will come at a cost to individual consumers.
Also, Chung urged people to use more public transportation for which he himself set an example.
He commutes by bus from his home in Heukseok-dong, southern Seoul, to his Gwanhwamun office, transferring twice. Although bus drivers' aggressive driving manner often confuses him, he stands firm that what he does contributes to fighting climate change.
Behind his advocacy lies his resume that highlights his long commitment to climate change and sustainable development.
He was involved in international environmental negotiations for climate change at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, and inserted compulsory licensing and transfer of publicly owned technologies in Agenda 21, a sustainable development move.
He also participated in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) special report last year as a lead author of technology transfer, and received a personal copy of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize which was awarded to the IPCC Nobel Peace Prize.
He served as deputy director-general for environmental affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 2007, he joined the U.N. Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific aiming for widespread development goals in the area, as director for environment and sustainable development division.
He gave credits to Korea's new climate change initiative that is anticipated to play ``a bridging role'' between developed and developing nations.
President Lee Myung-bak announced the ``Greenhouse Reduction Target 2020'' in July, and Chung received a grand welcome during the Accra climate change meeting in Ghana held last month.
The target will have a fixed rate of reduction, set by the government, he explained.
``Under the Kyoto Protocol, it's a question of whether to participate in it or not. But by announcing its own target voluntarily, Korea will encourage other countries, which have been reluctant to participate, to come up with their own target at their own rate,'' Chung said.