South Korea to Host World Environment Day Ceremony for the First Time in 28 Years

On June 4, a day before World Environment Day, children from Dongyoung Kindergarten in Daegu's Suseong District participated in an environmental campaign, holding handmade signs. This year marks the first World Environment Day ceremony in South Korea since 1997, with the theme set as 'Ending Plastic Pollution.' The event will take place on June 5 at the Jeju International Convention Center in Seogwipo, Jeju Island.

World Environment Day, celebrated annually on June 5, commemorates the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. The Ministry of Environment stated that the official slogan for this year is 'Shared Challenge, Collective Action,' emphasizing that the fight against plastic pollution requires a united effort from all humanity.

The ceremony will see participation from around 1,300 attendees, including high-level representatives from 20 countries such as Laos, Bangladesh, and Japan, as well as ambassadors, and members from civil society, academia, and industry.

Additionally, the Ministry plans to unveil an 'Action Plan for a Circular Economy' during the ceremony. This initiative aims to assist countries struggling with plastic pollution by leveraging South Korea's technology and experience to conduct tailored projects based on comprehensive analyses of their specific issues.

On June 4, the '30X30 Alliance' will be launched, aiming to protect and manage 30% of the nation's land as protected areas or areas of ecological coexistence, while restoring 30% of degraded lands. This alliance includes various organizations such as the Ministry of Environment, the National Institute of Biological Resources, and private companies like Samsung Electronics and POSCO DX, along with international organizations and NGOs.

In December 2022, countries adopted the 'Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework' at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Canada, which aims to designate 30% of the planet as protected areas and restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030. In line with this, South Korea plans to establish its '5th National Biodiversity Strategy' by December 2023, committing to designate 30% of its territory as protected areas or areas of ecological coexistence (OECM) by 2030.