Global experts gather to discuss the present and future of South Korea’s green ODA
- The Korea University Global Research Institute's Center for Global Climate and Marine Governance hosted an international conference

On Friday February 19, 2021, Korea University's Interdisciplinary Study Group on Climate Change and the Environment co-hosted an online international conference with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the UNDP Seoul Policy Center, the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), and the Center for Climate and Sustainable Development Law and Policy (CSDLAP). The conference was titled, “The Present and Future of the Green Official Development Assistance (ODA) program of the Republic of Korea.”

The aim of the event was to explore ways to develop South Korea’s Green ODA by discussing the current situation of Green ODAs globally, and by examining what roles stakeholders in the fields of climate change and the environment play in the development of such programs.

In line with the South Korean government’s announcement of its Green New Deal policy, which is geared towards helping to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, the Green ODA is a critical policy tool in the areas of climate change and the environment.

At the conference’s opening ceremony, Ree Jin-han, Executive Vice President for Research at Korea University, Cho Yeong-moo, Director General of the Development Cooperation Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Park Jae-shin, KOICA's Vice President for Program Strategy and Asia Programs, and Ahn Ho-young, CSDLAP Senior Advisor and a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs delivered opening speeches.

The conference was also attended by more than 200 global experts on climate change and the environment, including Louis Goodman, professor at American University; Frang Rijisberman, Director-General of GGGI; Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director of the Climate Policy Initiative; Stephan Klingebiel, Director of the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre; Robert C. Stowe, Manager of the Harvard Project on Climate Agreements; Son Yo-whan, professor at Korea University; Kim Dong-hwan, professor at Korea University; Park Dong-kyun, Head of CSDLAP Forestry Programs; Ahn Byung-ki, Head of the Korea Forest Service International Cooperation Office; Chung Suh-yong, professor in the Division of International Studies at Korea University; Grazyna Pulawska, Acting Director of the Asia Europe Foundation; Ruben Lubowski, Chief Natural Resource Economist of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF); and Bernhard Selinger, Resident Representative of the Hanns Seidel Foundation in Korea.

In his opening address, Ree Jin-han, Executive Vice President for Research at Korea University, stressed that “in the midst of the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, the Green New Deal and the Net-Zero Policy are critical in achieving sustainable development and generating new jobs.”

Professor Chung Suh-yong, who organized the conference, said, “To push forward with the Green New Deal and the Net-Zero Policy, we need to share perspectives on Green ODAs globally and create a Green ODA forum in which the representatives of governments, international organizations, think tanks, and universities participate, where we can devise specific and practical solutions to the hurdles faced by South Korea’s Green ODA.”