Seminar on Alternatives for East Asian and North-South Korean Environmental Cooperation

Prof. Kim Yong-po, Professor in the department of chemical engineering and material science at Ewha University hosted the seminar, that opened with a presentation held by Dr. Chu Jang-min, head of the environmental policy research group at KEI. Dr. Chu discussed the current state and outlook of the most pressing environmental issues in East Asia, such as the Yellow Dust and air pollution, as well as regional problems caused by climate change. Afterwards Prof. Woo Jeong-heon, form the department of advanced technology fusion at Konkuk University, talked about energy usage in North Korea and the emission of air pollutants, which he highlighted by drawing a direct comparison to South Korea. Dr. Choi Hyun-ah then introduced participants of the seminar to the HSF’s environmental projects in Korea and cross-border environmental cooperation.

In the following discussion participants and presenters could exchange perspectives on particular matters and share views on how to initiate or improve cross-border environmental cooperation. Seminars such as this are important, not only to discuss possible actions regarding environmental concerns, but also to share data from different sources and thus get a better perspective on the overall problem.