P4G SEOUL SUMMIT COMES TO A CLOSE

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The first climate-related international event, the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit, has drawn to a close. A joint statement was adopted by participating nations pledging their cooperation on climate change.

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In order to overcome the climate crisis, nearly 70 world leaders and heads of international organizations have adopted the Seoul Declaration. They view climate change as a serious problem affecting not only the environment but also the economy and national security.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "We have agreed to adopt the Seoul Declaration addressing the seriousness of the climate crisis. It is a promise by the international community, civic society, businesses and future generations to work together to overcome it."

The participating nations came up with an action plan on tackling climate change. This includes keeping the global surface temperature increase within 1.5 degrees and accelerating the use of eco-friendly energy, steering away from coal usage. The participating countries both industrialized and developing ones have also pledged cooperation on addressing marine plastic waste.

[Soundbite] Pres. Moon Jae-in : "I hope it will be an important opportunity to reach global consensus on carbon neutrality and sustainable societies, and expand environmental cooperation."

In a forum with world leaders held ahead of the closing ceremony, President Moon stressed that there are no national boundaries when it comes to climate issues and that advanced nations must share the burden of carbon neutrality of developing countries. Moon said Korea will play the role of a bridge by expanding official development assistance in the climate sector and supporting relevant international organizations. In his address delivered at the closing ceremony for the P4G Seoul Summit, the South Korean president called on taking immediate action to protect the environment. The next P4G Summit is to take place in two years in Colombia. There was also an incident at the closing ceremony where a screened video introducing Seoul mistakenly showed a satellite image of Pyongyang. Cheong Wa Dae said the mistake was made by the company that produced the video, but the main opposition party blasted the incident as a diplomatic disaster.