- On 21 May, SteelZero received official endorsement from the Under2 Coalition Co-Chair Governor Kim Tae-heum of Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea.
- The signing ceremony involving Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson and Governor Kim took place at the Asia Renewables Growth Forum, run by our RE100 initiative, which gathered stakeholders to drive action on removing barriers to the scale up of renewables in the region.
- This is a landmark moment for SteelZero as the first official endorsement from government for our work mobilising corporate leadership to drive the steel industry's net zero transition.
21 May 2024, London - SteelZero has today received an official letter of support from Governor Kim Tae-heum of Chungcheongnam-do (hereby referred to as Chungnam Province), Republic of Korea. By doing so, Chungnam Province becomes the first government to officially endorse the SteelZero initiative. It marks an important milestone for our work in the country and our role driving corporate leadership to speed up the transition to a net zero steel industry.
As the co-chair of the Under2 Coalition, Chungnam Province has been an active voice and driver of subnational climate action toward achieving Korea's 2050 carbon neutrality goal. Steelmaking currently accounts for nearly 40% of the nation's industrial emissions. With the region home to many of the country's largest steelmaking sites, steel decarbonisation has necessarily become a key focus of this action.
With South Korea the 6th largest steelmaking country in the world, Chungnam Province is therefore an important partner in our goal to decarbonise the South Korean and global steel industry. We've been working closely to bring together corporates, policymakers, steelmakers and the wider stakeholder base to unlock action to drive the steel industry's net zero transition.
With decarbonisation becoming increasingly a case of both climate and competitive necessity, we look forward to continuing to work with the Governor and Chungnam Province.
Jen Carson, Head of Industry, Climate Group commented:
This is truly a landmark moment for our SteelZero work in Korea. As Asia-Pacific co-chair of our Under2 Coalition, we’ve been working closely with Chungcheongnam-do to accelerate climate action in the country. Korea’s businesses have a critical role to play in driving the decarbonisation of their steel industry. We'd like to thank the Governor for his support, which is a rubber stamp of approval for our role driving corporate leadership in Korea. It marks the next step in our collaboration, and I look forward to continuing our combined efforts to drive South Korea’s net zero steel transition.”
Kim Tae-heum, Governor, Chungcheongnam-do commented:
As the Governor of Chungnam Province, I am proud to endorse the SteelZero initiative. We support its mission to drive corporate climate leadership among global and Korean companies, while collaborating with governments to take decisive action towards carbon neutrality. Businesses have a crucial role to play in advancing the steel industry's transition, which is becoming both an environmental and economic competitive necessity. We're committed to working together to achieve our shared goal of a net zero Korean steel industry and to contribute to our country's transition to a green economy. Chungnam Province is leading the way in the Republic of Korea.
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Contact
For any media enquiries, including interview requests, please contact: Alexandra Brandt Corstius, Communications Manager at abrandtcorstius@climategroup.org
Notes to editors:
The Climate Group drives climate action. Fast. Our goal is a world of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with greater prosperity for all. We focus on systems with the highest emissions and where our networks have the greatest opportunity to drive change. We do this by building large and influential networks and holding organisations accountable, turning their commitments into action. We share what we achieve together to show more organisations what they could do. We are an international non-profit organisation, founded in 2004, with offices in London, New Delhi and New York. We are proud to be part of the We Mean Business coalition.
SteelZero is a global initiative bringing together forward-looking organisations to speed up the transition to a net zero steel industry. Led by international non-profit the Climate Group in partnership with ResponsibleSteel, organisations that join SteelZero make a public commitment to procure 100% net zero steel by 2050. By harnessing their collective purchasing power and influence, SteelZero sends a strong demand signal to shift global markets and policies towards responsible production and sourcing of steel.
