The Korea Herald

소아쌤

Korea-Danish green growth pact to become legally binding treaty

By Korea Herald

Published : May 15, 2012 - 19:47

    • Link copied

Korea and Denmark have agreed to make the green growth alliance between the two counties a legally binding treaty as part of efforts to strengthen their partnership in the field, officials said Tuesday.

Korea’s Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Danish Crown Prince Frederik held the second meeting of the Korea-Danish Green Growth Alliance at a Seoul hotel on the day.

The green growth alliance, launched when President Lee Myung-bak visited Denmark last May, is the first of its kind between two countries.

The two countries plan to start legislative efforts after the final agreement is signed in Denmark in October when the country hosts the annual Global Green Growth Forum.

“I want to applaud green growth efforts by ‘first-mover’ Denmark and ‘fast-mover’ Korea. I hope our green partnership to be further expanded and deepened,” the prime minister was quoted as saying during the meeting.

Demark, under a plan to turn into a “no fossil-fuel society” by 2050, is making efforts to replace 35 percent of its energy consumption with new renewable energies like wind, solar power and water by 2020.

Korea has also renewed related laws, organizations, strategies and infrastructures since the government declared the low-carbon green growth as the national initiative in 2008. In May, the National Assembly also approved a revision on carbon-trading permits.

In line with the Seoul meeting, a total of 14 memorandum of understanding were signed to expand partnership between the two countries in diverse sectors such as science technology, shipbuilding and livestock.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)