The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) will execute its comprehensive five-year climate action plan (2022–2026) starting this year with the goal of establishing Seoul as a “city safe from climate change” through 30% reductions in GHG emissions until 2026.
Mayor Oh Se-hoon announced the comprehensive plan that was established considering the characteristics of Seoul as a metropolitan city on Thu, Jan. 20, and added that the SMG will accelerate the speed in which it will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 through reducing annual GHG emissions to 3,500 t, which is 30% of emissions compared to the amount in 2005, and investing KRW 10 trillion into various projects.
The plan comprises five focus areas with ten key tasks (143 detailed projects): buildings; transportation; urban greening; urban resilience; and public participation.
As for buildings, the SMG will initiate its low carbon building (LCB) program to create high energy efficiency buildings with low carbon emissions for one million old buildings—from public buildings, such as government offices, to apartment buildings—by 2026 through enhanced insulation, renovation, etc. Starting next year, new constructions of private buildings (+100,000 m2) will be required to implement a “zero energy building” design. The SMG will continue to discover various energy sources, such as hydrothermal and geothermal, to raise the penetration rate of new and renewable energy from 4.2% in 2021 to 21% by 2030.
As for transportation, the SMG will increase the number of citywide charging stations for electric vehicles (EV) by tenfold to 220,000 units to establish a “five-minute charging network” within residential areas while expanding the supply of EVs to 400,000 units to increase EV ownership to 10% of the city’s total vehicle count. The SMG will give citizens greater access to EVs through the increased electric modes of public transport by replacing more than 50% of the current fleet of buses and 20% of taxis to EVs.
As for urban greening, the SMG will transform and improve the characteristics of the city to stand as a megacity in the face of climate change. Concrete and asphalt will be removed to make space for green space, a water circulation system will be created, and roads will be made into forest trails. Spaces closely connected to the daily lives of citizens will be created and maintained all over the city totaling to 13 times the size of World Cup Park. The SMG’s “Stream Renaissance,” which transforms small streams into attractive waterside parks, will take effect in six locations including the Jeongneungcheon Stream, which relieves the heat island effect in the city and provides a place to rest. Lanes will be reduced for 22 roads within the Hanyangdoseong (Seoul City Wall) area while 181 km of bike paths will be expanded in the main roads.
As for urban resilience and public participation, the SMG will expand its investments in strengthening urban infrastructure to prepare for climate-related disasters, such as drought and flooding, by maintaining old waterworks as well as installing and expanding rain pumps, among others. Furthermore, the SMG will encourage the public to directly participate by completely eliminating disposable cups in cafes by 2026 and create up to 1,000 “zero markets” which do not use disposables or packaging to accelerate the transformation of Seoul as a disposables-free city.