Kim Sung-hwan, the newly appointed environment minister, says the ministry will shed its image as a regulatory agency and become a government department that leads efforts to achieve a “decarbonized green civilization.”

During his inauguration ceremony on Tuesday, Kim stressed that as climate disasters such as heavy rain, heat waves and wildfires are threatening people’s lives, the 2035 national greenhouse gas reduction target and the 2050 Carbon Neutrality Strategy remain important tasks that will determine the lives of future generations.

He said the country’s carbon reduction goals will be challenging but reasonable, and will raise South Korea’s status in the international community, expressing the government’s commitment to carbon neutrality.

Kim said all efforts will be made to foster industrial decarbonization and support key sectors such as electric vehicles, batteries and renewable energy, which he said will lead to the creation of new jobs and increase the export competitiveness of domestic firms.

He also addressed recent significant changes to the weather and vowed to establish a thorough safety net to protect people from similar disasters.