▲ Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Ambassador Catherine Raper of Australia

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the Republic of Korea and Australia, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province and Australia decided to strengthen cooperation to achieve carbon neutrality.

Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province had a meeting with Ambassador Catherine Raper of Australia to Korea on June 22 and discussed ways to exchange and cooperate in various fields such as green energy and management of the natural environment and urban landscape.

Ambassador Raper honored the friendship and cooperation between Korea and Australia in celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. She explained that she is seeking to strengthen the relations in the future.

“At the Korea-Australia summit held in the UK last week, South Korea and Australia agreed to upgrade to a comprehensive strategic partnership and discussed to strengthen cooperation in the low-carbon sector,” she added. “We expect to cooperate in green energy in various ways,” the ambassador continued.

Naming Jeju’s carbon-neutral policies such as building Carbon-Free Island 2030, 100% conversion to electric cars, 100% replacement to renewable energy to supply power demands, and establishment of smart transportation systems. Governor Won Hee-ryong explained, “Jeju has promoted carbon reduction policies since 2011, leading the carbon-neutral policy in Korea.”

Welcoming cooperation with Australia to achieve carbon neutrality, Won added, “To achieve the government’s carbon-neutral goal by 2050, Jeju has to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37% by 2030. This requires the development of specific technologies for carbon reduction from heating and industrial power generation.”