Institute wins environmental awards
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Ahn Byung-ok, director of the Institute for Climate Change Action, stands with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon at a ceremony for the Seoul Environmental Awards at City Hall, Thursday. / Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government
By Kim Se-jeong
The Institute for Climate Change Action, an NGO based in Seoul, has won the grand prize of the Seoul Environmental Awards.
“I thank the Seoul city government for its recognition,” Ahn Byung-ok, director of the institute, said at the awards ceremony at City Hall, downtown Seoul, Thursday.
“We still have a lot to do, but I will take this as encouragement.”
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon said, “The institute has done a lot in raising awareness of the impact of climate change and getting the people to brainstorm about what to do and how to act.”
Founded by Ahn in 2009, the NGO focuses on research but has also done a lot of advocacy work in recent years.
“Big Ask” is the most prominent project through which the institute submitted a draft of a climate change bill to the National Assembly, with 50,000 signatures from citizens. The draft didn't turn into a law but the received applausess as a meaningful attempt from the environmental community.
"Climate Action 2015" was initiated before the Paris Climate Change Conference in December.
“Together with 60 organizations, we organized a two-week reach-out journey across Korea, visiting places with big climate change impact and meeting local communities to share climate leadership and to build a green network,” Ahn said.
The participants of the journey also made a video with 1,000 opinion leaders speaking about climate change and action that should be taken to promote it.
Ahn said the institute is currently working to create a renewable energy network among stakeholders, promoting knowledge exchanges and joint action among academia, civic groups and citizens.
The institute calls for using less fossil fuel and phasing out nuclear power.
Korea relies heavily on fossil fuel and nuclear power for electricity, although fossil fuel is diminishing in popularity globally as it emits large amounts of greenhouse gases during combustion. The ecology of nuclear energy is also in dispute due to unresolved safety issues. “Although improving, Korea’s share of renewable energy in its future energy mix is still low,” he said.
The city also awarded 20 other individuals and groups this year. The city began presenting the awards in 1997.