World leaders to share climate commitments at P4G Seoul Summit
President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony to mark the establishment of the presidential committee for 2050 carbon neutrality at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Saturday. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
World leaders will share their commitments to tackle climate changes during the P4G Seoul Summit, which kicked off its two-day run online to pursue international cooperation for stronger environmental actions.
P4G, short for Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030, is a global initiative launched in 2017 to accelerate responses to climate change and the implementation of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As part of the initiative, member countries hold summits between heads of states and leaders of international organizations and businesses to form a coalition for sustainable growth.
The P4G Seoul Summit is the second of its kind, and Korea's first hosting of a multilateral climate summit. Including 12 member countries, leaders of more than 40 countries will participate in the event. They include U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and a number of other state leaders. U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will also attend the summit.
As the host of the summit, Korea will announce its plans to strengthen its coalition for environmental actions with like-minded countries, and present itself as one of the leading nations in climate responses.
Under the theme of “Inclusive Green Recovery towards Carbon Neutrality,” the summit will start with an opening ceremony, in which President Moon Jae-in giving a speech calling for global cooperation in effective responses to climate change and efforts for carbon neutrality.
In the speech, Moon also pledged Korea's enhanced assistance for developing nations which are struggling to cope with climate change.
The opening ceremony was followed by a leaders' session, in which state leaders and international organization heads announced their climate response commitments.
The summits will continue on Monday with five thematic sessions on water, food and agriculture, energy, cities and circular economy, and 10 special sessions on issues including climate change response, inclusive green growth and sustainable development.
After the sessions, leaders will engage in a dialogue and adopt the Seoul Declaration that will state the necessity of a global coalition to overcome climate change and COVID-19, the implementation of the Paris Agreement, efforts toward sustainable growth and business' pursuit of environmental and social value.
This year marks the first year for implementing the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty aimed at limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
“This year is important for climate diplomacy as it marks the first year of the Paris Agreement, and has three major conferences of April's Leaders' Climate Summit, the P4G Seoul Summit and the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties in November,” a senior official at Cheong Wa Dae said.
“Under such circumstances, the P4G Seoul Summit will be a crucial opportunity for Korea to present its experiences in climate response and green growth to the global community. Given the P4G Summit is a platform for public-private partnerships, it is also expected to contribute to promoting Korean hydrogen and battery makers' advanced technologies to the world.”
Before the summit, Korea established the presidential 2050 Carbon Neutrality Committee on Saturday. It will serve as the top governing body controlling the country's administrative, industrial and social efforts to pursue carbon neutrality by 2050.