Cherryl Kho, IEC and Policy Specialist of the Zero Carbon Resorts project of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development Staff (PCSDS), attended the Green Industry Conference at Ulsan, South Korea last June 28-30.
Topics discussed were about the Korean Green Growth Strategy, Low Carbon Transport and Energy, the Circular Economy, Green Industry Index and Science Technology and Innovation.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the event with a video message stating that the theme “Green Industry for Sustainable Cities is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adapted last year by UN member states”. He also said that “When planned, built and governed well; cities can be powerhouses of equitable economic growth. They can help us protect the environment and limit climate change”.
Kho shared that the host city Ulsan Metropolitan City represents a model of how other cities can become sustainable through the green industry.
She noted that although Ulsan is South Korea’s largest manufacturing hub, it is promoting environmental restoration and transforming traditional industrial complexes into eco-industrial parks through inter-industry waste, energy and material exchange.
Kho also added that Ulsan has a number of parks and rivers where residents and tourists can have picnics, hike & bike along its eco-trails, and just enjoy being with nature.
More than 400 participants that included high-level officials, government officials, private sector, civil society and academia attended the conference to learn more and explore the interdependence between industry and cities in the context of resource efficiency, green technology and eco-innovation
Kho was invited as a distinguished guest by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the conference organizer together with the Ulsan Metropolitan City. Kho was one of the four Filipinos who attended the said conference wherein two were speakers of the said conference.
Tonilyn Lim, Industrial Development Officer at UNIDO, talked about Hubs of Innovation, Low Carbon Industrialization and Climate Action. Another Filipino speaker Mr. Anthony Shun Fung Chiu, Professor of Industrial Systems Engineering at De La Salle University, provided his insights on the Green Industry Index.
The other Filipino participant was Simonette F. Sagaral, Information and Technology Officer from Cagayan de Oro Trade and Investment Promotions Center (Oro-TIPC).
The last day of the conference was dedicated to industrial field visits to Hyundai Heavy Industry and SK Energy for the participants to see first-hand the industries that are implementing green energy.
Participants also visited the Ulsan Hydrogen Town, a community housing around 140 families using hydrogen for their energy needs and will serve as a model for reducing dependency on fossil fuels and decreasing overall greenhouse gas emissions from factories and vehicles.