By Kim Rahn
The East Asian office of the world’s largest international environment organization will open in Seoul Friday, according to the city government Wednesday.
Municipal officials said that they will hold the opening ceremony for the regional secretariat of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) in central Seoul, with leaders of some 20 member cities from 15 participating countries.
Setting up a branch in the Korean capital was decided in June during the world congress of the ICLEI, which is made up of some 1,220 local authorities from 84 countries. The Seoul office is the council’s eighth regional secretariat, and will help 91 member cities from six countries in the region form networks and develop green growth policies.
On the occasion of the office opening, the city will host a meeting, “ICLEI-Seoul East Asia Days,” from Thursday to Saturday.
It will include a forum at City Hall, with about 300 participants including the heads of 20 overseas cities, chiefs of domestic local authorities, officials from related international organizations and civic group members.
On Friday, Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon will preside over a joint meeting of the ICLEI Global Executive Committee and the World Mayors Council on Climate Change (WMCCC) as chairman of the latter.
Another session will be held the next day where participants will discuss ways for local authorities to lead in the sustainable production and consumption of energy. They will also announce the 2012 Seoul Energy and Climate Declaration of Local Governments, through which municipalities will reduce their use of fossil fuel and nuclear energy.