Swiss-Korean Joint Workshop | Towards Carbon Neutrality

Towards Carbon Neutrality

The bilateral workshop ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐š๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐œ๐š๐ซ๐›๐จ๐ง ๐ง๐ž๐ฎ๐ญ๐ซ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ offered the opportunity of exchange about the current status and future steps of Switzerland and Korea in this long journey towards a more sustainable planet. In particular, technologies such as ๐’…๐’Š๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’• ๐’‚๐’Š๐’“ ๐’„๐’‚๐’‘๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’† (DAC) have been highlighted as complementary to ๐’„๐’‚๐’“๐’ƒ๐’๐’ ๐’„๐’‚๐’‘๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’† ๐’”๐’•๐’๐’“๐’‚๐’ˆ๐’† in the process to reach the ๐’๐’†๐’• ๐’›๐’†๐’“๐’ ๐’ˆ๐’๐’‚๐’.

Ambassador of Switzerland to Korea Dagmar Schmidt Tartagli and co-chairperson of the 2050 ๐‘ช๐’๐’Ž๐’Ž๐’Š๐’”๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’ ๐’‡๐’๐’“ ๐‘ช๐’‚๐’“๐’ƒ๐’๐’ ๐‘ต๐’†๐’–๐’•๐’“๐’‚๐’๐’Š๐’•๐’š, prof. Sun-Jin Yun, reminded in their speeches that we all live under the same sky and there are no borders in this mission.

๐Ÿค The Swiss company Climeworks is world leader in the DAC sector and Christoph Beuttler, Head of Climate Policy, pointed on the #multilateral cooperation, particularly on how Switzerland and Korea, both characterized by limited underground CO2 storage, might work together on solutions for safe transfer of CO2 in third locations.
๐Ÿ“‘ The fundamental role of the #policy framework has been illustrated by Sophie Wenger-Hintz , Policy advisor at the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN, with special focus on incentifves for organizations and companies. She also referred to the importance of joint projects between universities and industry supported by the government as an intrument to move forward.
๐Ÿ’ก#Research to upscale existing techonologies, but also as a driving motor in this new adventure, in which humans are learning about the antrophogenic carbon cycle, Suren Erkman, prof. at Universitรฉ de Lausanne and founder of SOFIES, looked forward to new discoveries and to the role of education.

Thanks to all participants for the enriching exchange and inspiration on some milestones that can be achieved through cooperation between the two countries.

Participants

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    Moderator

    Leo Park

    Associate Director, ClimateWorks Foundation's Sustainable Finance Program

    Leo is the Associate Director of ClimateWorks Foundation’s Sustainable Finance Program. Previously, Leo worked for the Green Climate Fund as Deputy Director a.i. at its Private Sector Facility and acted as the inaugural Corporate Sustainability Officer. Additionally, Leo serves Republic of Koreaโ€™s 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission as a member. Leo spent most of his career in climate/sustainable and project finance, including with the Korea Development Bank. He also led design and legislation of the Emissions Trading Scheme at Republic of Koreaโ€™s Presidential Committee on Green Growth. Leo holds a bachelorโ€™s degree in Computer and Business Studies from the University of Warwick, U.K., and an M.B.A. degree from New York University. He received his Ph.D. degree in Sustainability Management and Sustainable Finance from Inha University in Republic of Korea where Leo also serves as adjunct professor. Leo is a co-author of the book โ€œAre you ready to trade carbon?โ€.

  • Bio

    Sun-Jin Yun

    Co-Chairperson, 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission of Republic of Korea

    Sun-Jin Yun is Co-Chairperson of 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission of Republic of Korea and Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies of Seoul National University
    Prof. Yun earned her Ph.D. at University of Delaware, major in Environmental and Energy Policy, and has dedicated most of her career to promoting sustainable development and addressing environmental issues through vigorous research, lecturing, social activities.
    Before assuming the role of Co-Chairperson of 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission in May 2021, Prof. Yun previously served in various positions at Governmentโ€™s Committees, including Chairperson of Sustainable Development Committee, Chairperson of Korea Energy Information Culture Agency, etc.

    2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission of Republic of Korea was established in May 2021, as Republic of Korea announced 2050 Carbon Neutrality goal in late 2020, to propose Koreaโ€™s โ€˜2050 Carbon Neutrality Scenarioโ€™ and โ€˜2030 Nationally Determined Contributions(NDC)โ€™, and to collect opinions from diverse parties of interest(e.g. – industries, civil societies, labor, etc.) by providing forum for discussions periodically.

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    Bio

    Suren Erkman

    Chairman of the Board, Sofies (Solutions for Industrial Ecosystems)

    Suren Erkman has a background in Philosophy and Biology from the University of Geneva (Switzerland) and a PhD in Environmental Sciences from the University of Technology of Troyes (France). He has been also trained as a registered science and business journalist. He has been contributing to the emerging field of industrial ecology since the early 90s, as a consultant and entrepreneur. In 2005, he joined the University of Lausanne as an Associate Professor in Industrial Ecology. Suren Erkman is also Chairman of the Board of the consulting company Sofies (Solutions for Industrial Ecosystems), with more than 60 collaborators. Sofies advises companies, governments and international organizations on sustainability issues, with a focus on industrial ecology and circular economy.

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    Bio

    Sophie Wenger Hintz

    Policy Advisor, Climate Division, Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)

    Sophie Wenger Hintz is a Policy Advisor in the Climate Division of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) since 2014. She is currently responsible for developing favourable framework conditions to scale up negative emissions technologies, which are necessary to help reach the Swiss net-zero target for greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Her fields of activities include R+D projects, policy development, and national and international cooperation. Previously, Sophie Wenger worked for the electric utility of Zurich as a board member in the fields of innovation management and renewable energy. Sophie Wenger holds a PhD in Physics for work on novel solar cells

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    Bio

    Christoph Beuttler

    Head of Climate Policy, Climeworks

    Christoph Beuttler is Head of Climate Policy at Climeworks and a global expert on carbon removal as well as CO2 utilization, with several years of experience in the field. He is a Board Member of CO2 Value Europe (CVE) and president of Negative Emissions Platform (NEP) in Brussels as well as a visiting lecturer in risk perception and communication for science and policy at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ). Christoph also holds a position at Risk Dialogue Foundation (RDF) a Swiss Think & do Tank where he consults for example the Swiss Government on carbon removal and storage. His academic background is in Economics, Business Administration, and International Business. He was educated in Heidelberg, Germany and London, UK.