South Korean districts Buk-gu and Gwanak-gu win carbon neutrality awards

South Korean local governments Buk-gu and Gwanak-gu have been recognized by the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment for their excellence in carbon neutrality policies.

Buk-gu received the ministerial award for its comprehensive approach, which includes distributing renewable energy equipment, such as solar power and solar thermal systems, to 220 locations across 27 neighborhoods. The district also received praise for its ecological conservation of the Pyeongdume Wetland, a Ramsar site, and for utilizing it as an environmental education space. Buk-gu successfully exceeded its greenhouse gas reduction targets last year.

Gwanak-gu was honored for its resident-participatory climate policies and public-private-academic cooperation. Key initiatives included the ‘Gwanak Climate Citizen Assembly,’ where residents proposed 13 policy recommendations, and resource circulation programs. The district implemented smart collection bins for waste cooking oil and distributed color-coded recycling bags, which contributed to an 11.4 percentage point increase in recycling sorting efficiency.