New community movement to power green growth

By Bae Ji-sook

Staff reporter

Korea must adopt a "Green Growth" policy as a second "Saemaeul Undong," or new community movement, to tackle various global challenges caused by the environment, Lee Maan-ee, minister of the environment, said Wednesday.

In a written interview with The Korea Times, the minister said a low-carbon green growth policy will be the key for Korea to turn various environmental challenges - massive carbon emissions leading to climate change, and a shortage of fossil fuels among others - into new opportunities.

Saemaeul Undong was a campaign designed to develop rural areas in the 1970s, and this played a significant role in the country's economic development.

By adopting the spirit of Saemaeul Undong, Lee said, the current and next generations will create a better environment as it will encourage every member of society to participate in burden-sharing for mutual prosperity.

"The enlightenment movement pulled Korea from poverty and frustration into prosperity and hope. It has been listed in the Encyclopedia Britannica and many developing countries have localized it for their own national campaigns," the minister said. "Like Saemaeul Undong, a green growth strategy can lay the firm foundation to overcome challenges and social obstacles through combined efforts by all people and ultimately turn them into an opportunity for a new takeoff."

Taking the "me first to take responsibility" attitude, the government has unveiled numerous policies already.

Lee said Korea faces growing global challenges triggered by environmental changes and needs a fresh impetus from the community for sustainable and environment-friendly growth.

"We must adopt green growth as a 'second' new community movement," he said.

Lee said the ministry's initiation of the "Green Start Campaign" will provide leverage for green growth to take root as a new movement as it is designed to induce support from both citizens and businesses.

"Like Saemaeul Undong, the government should take the lead and, at the same time, work together with all citizens as well as the business community," the minister noted.

The declaration of green growth by the Lee Myung-bak administration in 2008 was aimed at transforming the existing industrial structure to a low-carbon one, and establishing a virtuous circle between economic development and environmental preservation.

Korea has become the first nation to enact a law on green growth - The Basic Act on Low Carbon Emissions. This encourages a low-carbon society, promotes a green lifestyle and builds on public-private partnerships for green growth.

It has also established a Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center for monitoring gas emissions and the development of green growth related facilities. Green building, green consumption as well as green transportation for the purpose of encouraging a green lifestyle among citizens are also being promoted.

Lee said the plan is already getting positive reviews. "The Declaration on Green Growth was adopted at the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) in June 2009. And the U.N. Environment Program (UNEP) published the Overview of the Republic of Korea's Green Growth Strategy in April, 2010, which highly assesses Korea as a country to lead green growth worldwide," he said.