1. The Foreign Ministry, together with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)’s Subregional Office for East and North-East Asia (ENEA), will host the fifth Northeast Asia Energy Security Forum at JW Merriott Hotel, southern Seoul, at 09:00-17:00, December 12.

° The event will bring together officials of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and renewable energy experts in government, academic and other private sectors of Northeast Asian countries, including the Republic of Korea, Japan, China and Mongolia, for presentations and discussions on “the renewable energy situation in Northeast Asia and policy tasks.”

° The Forum will feature opening remarks by Ambassador for Climate Change Kim Chan-woo of the Foreign Ministry and congratulatory remarks by head of UNESCAP-ENEA Nam Sang-min.

2. The Forum will consist of three sessions on the renewable energy situation in Northeast Asia and relevant policies; market approaches to promote the participation of stakeholders; and various relevant issues -- mainly, challenges and ways to resolve them.

3. The ROK has announced its plan to generate 20 percent out of its total amount of power from renewable sources by 2030 for an energy paradigm “shift toward safe and clean energy.” In sync with the energy paradigm shift toward environment-friendly energy under way across the world, experts from Northeast Asian countries, main energy consumers, will discuss ways to increase renewable energy and for countries in the region to work together in this regard. As such, the Forum will serve as a good opportunity to expand renewable energy in Northeast Asia.

4. The ROK Foreign Ministry, together with the UNESCAP-ENEA, has held the Northeast Asia Energy Security Forum since 2013 to seek ways that Northeast Asian countries can work more closely together on energy security. The Ministry will continue efforts to make the Forum a significant platform for energy discussions in Northeast Asia as well as energy diplomacy in a way that is in sync with the ongoing shift toward the new energy paradigm.

※ The inaugural round of the Forum took place in Daegu, southeast of Seoul, in October 2013 on the sidelines of the World Energy Congress, followed by the second, third and fourth in Seoul in December 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively.


* unofficial translation