The European Union’s envoy in South Korea on Wednesday praised the country’s increased commitment to boosting renewable energy, while still urging more speed and international cooperation on the global front against climate change.

Speaking at H.eco Forum 2024 in Seoul, EU Ambassador to South Korea Maria Castillo Fernandez noted the Asian country’s pledge to join the global efforts to collectively triple renewables and double energy efficiency by 2030, made at the United Nations’ 28th COP28 climate conference late last year.

“I applaud your increased ambition. … Very happy to hear that, but we have to do it together,” the diplomat said in her special address delivered to hundreds of environmental activists, industry leaders, academics and other participants attending the annual forum, held at Some Sevit and organized by Herald Media Group, the publisher of The Korea Herald.

The ambassador introduced Europe’s initiatives to expand renewables in its energy portfolio and called for greater international cooperation to reduce emissions worldwide.

“We are scaling up our climate ambitions, perhaps to ‘ppali ppali.’ That's what we are doing, ‘ppali ppali’ in the climate agenda. … But Korea is less ‘ppali ppali’ than us,” she said, using the Korean phrase meaning “hurry, hurry” or “quickly, quickly” which is widely used to refer to Korea’s fast-paced culture.

Lim Jae-seong forestjs@heraldcorp.com

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