BUSAN -- An international fair and conference on climate change opened in the southeastern port city of Busan on Thursday, showcasing the latest eco-friendly technologies by about 500 enterprises and addresses by climate change experts.

The 2023 World Climate Industry Expo will continue through Saturday at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center in the city, 325 kilometers southeast of Seoul, under the theme "Rising above the Climate Crisis towards Sustainable Prosperity."

The nation's largest exhibition of climate change and the energy industry is jointly organized by 11 ministries, including the environment, science, foreign and industry ministries, along with 14 public entities, such as the Busan city government, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Korea International Trade Association.

About 500 companies, including Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, SK Group, Posco, Lotte Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Q Cells, Doosan Enerbility, Mercedes-Benz Korea, Volkswagen Group Korea, RWE and Equinor, are participating in the event to display their latest green technologies and products through a total of 2,195 booths.

The WCE has been created as a result of combining three separate climate and energy industry fairs that were previously organized individually by the trade ministry, the environment ministry and Busan city, until last year.

At this year's WCE, the trade ministry organized exhibitions on the energy industry and carbon neutrality, the environment ministry hosted an event titled "Global Green Hub Korea," and Busan city held an environmental energy industry exhibition.

At the opening ceremony, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo delivered an opening address, followed by keynote speeches by Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, and Richard Mueller, a renowned physicist from UC Berkeley.

The expo offers five exhibition halls, each dedicated to clean energy, energy efficiency, carbon neutrality, future mobility, and climate and environmental technologies. They display solar power, wind power, electric vehicle, hydrogen car, autonomous driving, hydrogen turbine, small module reactor, carbon-free energy, waste treatment and eco-friendly technologies.

Various forums brought together prominent experts, industry leaders, government officials and representatives of international organizations.

The KCCI hosted a roundtable of global business leaders and high-ranking government officials to explore the role of corporations in achieving a sustainable future.

The industry ministry and the Korea Energy Agency are set to organize sessions on low-carbon energy and environmental, social and corporate governance management in the afternoon.

On Friday, Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon will host a session joined by representatives of nine cities, including New Orleans and Auckland, to discuss policies and cooperation to solve urban problems caused by climate change.

On Saturday, prominent figures, such as Lee Hoe-sung, chairperson of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Kim Hyo-eun, ambassador and deputy minister for climate change at the foreign ministry, and Frank Rijsberman, director-general of the Global Green Growth Institute, will participate in a session focused on global cooperation in combating climate change in the ocean.

The New York Times also offers sessions on sustainable mobility, rising seas, clean energy and future low-carbon fuels until Friday.

In addition, various other seminars and events, including a forum on green nuclear energy, and an export plaza, will be organized by public institutions and local governments during the three-day event. (Yonhap)