The EU and the Republic of Korea established a Green Partnership with the aim of strengthening bilateral cooperation and exchanging best practices on climate action, clean and fair energy transition, protection of the environment, and other fields of the green transition. Both sides intend to intensify cooperation on renewable energy (in particular offshore energies), hydrogen with a focus on renewable and low-carbon hydrogen and energy efficiency as a future growth engine and a key means of de-carbonization.

According to the European Commission, the Green Partnership was launched in Seoul during the EU-Korea Summit by Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol. Both parties reaffirmed with this Partnership their commitment to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C and reach climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest. Additionally, both sides reiterated their commitment to their respective 2030 targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions.

“The EU and the Republic of Korea share the ambition of a climate-neutral future. The launch of our Green Partnership will help us towards that goal. We will now work on the convergence in key areas, and deepen cooperation on strategic, clean energy projects. Because it is good for our supply chains, good for our competitiveness and good for the planet”, said the President von der Leyen.

The EU-Korea Green Partnership will focus on several priority areas. They will support a clean and fair energy transition by intensifying cooperation on renewable energies, energy efficiency, renewable and low-carbon hydrogen, a just transition away from unabated coal-fired power generation, batteries and green mobility and Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS). Both sides intend to promote co-operation in energy market policies as well as innovation in green technologies aiming to accelerate a just and cost-effective transition to an affordable, safe, competitive, secure and sustainable energy systems.

Both sides intend to strengthen efforts on combating climate change, including cooperation on climate adaptation, carbon pricing, methane emissions and climate finance. Furthermore, both sides intend to increase cooperation on environmental issues with a focus on halting and reversing biodiversity loss, forest degradation and deforestation, promoting circular economy and addressing the full life cycle of plastics, as well as the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Within the framework of cooperation, they will work with third countries to facilitate their green transition, notably in the area of climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, the clean and fair energy transition, and circular economy. In addition, they will join forces in other areas such as business cooperation, sustainable finance, research & innovation, sustainable food systems, sustainability and resilience of our supply chains as well as employment and the social dimension of the green transition.

In line with the priority areas of their Green Partnership, the EU and the Republic of Korea also agreed to promote climate action on the international stage, in multilateral and plurilateral fora, notably as major donors of climate finance and as facilitators of a just transition in third countries. The two parties will cooperate to support developing countries and emerging economies with their implementation of climate and environment policies.

“Through this Green Partnership, we will work together to accelerate the transition to climate neutrality. I am glad that as close partners we will join forces to make sure the green transition is fair for all our citizens”, said Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal.