The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup) announced that it would share the outcomes of Minister Kim’s meetings with high-level officials from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), UNESCO, the International Energy Agency (IEA), and the International Transport Forum (ITF), which took place in Paris, France, from March 3 to 5.

This visit was particularly significant as it reaffirmed international trends in key environmental issues, including carbon norms, sustainable transportation, natural resource protection, and energy transition. This came at a time of growing concerns over the global retreat from eco-friendly initiatives, such as the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. In addition, the visit strengthened the international cooperation network for carbon neutrality. Notably, it also marked a key achievement in establishing new cooperation channels with the ITF and the IEA, such as a policy council and expert networks. Furthermore, agreements were reached on collaborative projects aimed at aligning international efforts with the ‘2025 World Environment Day’ event, set to be hosted by Korea and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on June 5 in Jeju.

Minister Kim met with OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann and they agreed to host a promotional event for the OECD’s ‘ASEAN+3 Plastics Outlook’ on Jeju Island during the World Environment Day event on June 5. He also committed to further discussions on the specific details of the event.

Minister Kim emphasized that “Carbon norms should serve as a catalyst for the green transition, not as a barrier to international trade.” He also stressed “the importance of scientific and systematic carbon research through the OECD’s Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA) in response to the growing global adoption of carbon norms.” In response, Mathias Cormann agreed, noting that carbon norms should not impede efficient reduction efforts or drive up mitigation costs.

In a meeting between Minster Kim and Kim Young-tae, Secretary-General of the ITF, Secretary-General Kim highlighted the ITF’s ongoing efforts to catalog decarbonization policies in the transport sector and quantify their effects. Both parties acknowledged the importance of addressing the stagnation in electric vehicle demand (the “chasm phenomenon”) and promoting active mobility.* They also agreed on the need for a sector-wide integrated approach to transform demand in hard-to-abate areas such as aviation, shipping, and long-distance transport. This comprehensive strategy is essential for decarbonizing the transport sector, which accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions.  

* Means of transportation through human activities such as walking, running, and cycling

Through this meeting, the following was agreed on: 1) Launch of a policy council for the transition to eco-friendly vehicles on the occasion of World Environment Day; 2) Electric vehicle-related events during the World Environment Day week, and 3) Joint hosting of side events related to eco-friendly transportation at the 30th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP30, November 2025, Belem, Brazil). The Ministry of Environment plans to actively promote discussions for implementation at the ‘EV Trend Korea 2025’ event held on the occasion of World Environment Day (June 3-5, 2025, COEX).

In the meeting with Lidia Arthur Brito, the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Minster Kim communicated his intention to provide continuous support and cooperation to enhance water security in developing countries based on Korea’s technology and experience, including flood forecasting using artificial intelligence (AI). The minister also stated that Korea is willing to participate in and contribute to the publication activities of the ‘Water Science Report.’

In addition, Minster Kim requested cooperation regarding the designation of the Gyeongbuk East Coast (Pohang, Gyeongju, Uljin, Yeongdeok) as a UNESCO Global Geopark, an initiative that has been promoted since 2022. Also discussed were cooperation plans related to capacity-building programs for developing countries through the Global Research and Training Centre for Internationally Designated Areas (GCIDA) under the auspices of UNESCO established in Jeju. 

Minister Kim stated that “the message from UNESCO regarding World Environment Day, which is being held in Korea for the first time in 27 years, is very important,” and requested a message of solidarity and cooperation from the international community to end plastic pollution.

In the meeting with Fatih Birol, the Secretary-General of the IEA, a consensus was reached that while changes in the global energy market are expected due to Trump’s return to power, the direction towards a transition to clean energy cannot change, and efforts for energy transition must continue. During the meeting, Minister Kim suggested that, although energy transition is a challenging task, countries with high dependency on energy imports, like Korea, need to diversify their energy sources with a focus on clean energy to enhance energy security and industrial competitiveness.

Secretary-General Birol agreed that energy and climate change are closely interconnected, and emphasized the need to promote cooperation with the Ministry of Environment of Korea as a result of this meeting. Following his meeting with Minister Kim, Birol shared details of their discussion on his social media platform (X, formerly Twitter), expressing his expectations for collaboration with the ministry.

In addition, Minister Kim proposed cooperation between the IIEA and the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center under the Ministry of Environment regarding greenhouse gas emissions forecasting, and they agreed to move forward with detailed discussions on cooperation in the future.

Meanwhile, during the meetings with international organizations, Minister Kim shared experiences from his time working at international institutions such as the World Bank, and requested support and attention for Korean climate and environmental experts to demonstrate their capabilities in these international organizations.        

Minister of Environment Kim Wansup stated, “Through this meeting, we will strengthen our cooperation network with major international organizations in the climate and environment fields and actively promote the identified cooperative projects to achieve substantial results.” He also mentioned, “To this end, we plan to continue related discussions on the occasion of major international events, such as World Environment Day.”

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