Gwangmyeong Citizens Propose 'Apartment Community' as Agent of Carbon Neutrality

Gwangmyeong citizens proposed on the 23rd at the "3rd Gwangmyeong City Climate Conference (Town Hall COP)," held in the city hall conference hall as part of "Climate Week 2026," to lower the barrier to carbon neutrality practice by creating a citizen participation environment centered on apartment communities.

The climate conference is a citizen-participatory climate cooperation model that applies the operational methods of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) to climate policy review, allowing citizens to monitor policy implementation progress and collectively discuss the direction of practice. Gwangmyeong City adopted this model for the first time in Korea in 2024.

Taking into account the fact that citizens recognize the necessity of carbon neutrality but face various difficulties, participants proposed creating apartment communities as spaces where people can easily continue practicing sustainability in their daily lives.

Specifically, proposals included energy inspection and conservation campaigns in apartment common facilities, expansion of public bicycle stations near apartments, operation of citizen resource recycling repair and maintenance schools, installation of shared refrigerators, and cultivation of vegetable gardens and green spaces.

Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won stated, "Going forward, I will strengthen climate cooperation with citizens so that citizen opinions are not limited to discussion but lead to actual policy changes and lifestyle improvements."

At the conference, Vice Mayor Choi Hye-min presented Gwangmyeong City's carbon neutrality implementation outcomes, and experts and citizens discussed the achievements and challenges of the policies together.

The subsequent discussion was moderated by Ko Jae-gyeong, chair of the Gwangmyeong Climate Crisis Response Committee. Vice Mayor Choi Hye-min, Park Jung-yeon, member of the National Climate Crisis Response Committee, Hong Su-yeol, member of the Gwangmyeong Climate Crisis Response Committee, and citizen representatives participated in discussing the achievements and challenges of carbon neutrality policies.