Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to the United Nations

Development

In September 2000, 189 Member States of the UN, including the Republic of Korea, adopted the Millennium Declaration at the UN Millennium Summit, with a view to improving the living standards of people suffering from poverty and underdevelopment. Based on the Millennium Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set 8 goals and 21 targets detailing the measurable development goals to be achieved by 2015. Through the MDGs, the international community harnessed its political will to eradicate poverty and mobilized various resources, which led to notable achievements in international cooperation, particularly in improving access to primary education and child health in developing countries. 

With the conclusion of the MDGs in 2015, the international community continued its efforts for development in the context of establishing a post-2015 development agenda. At the 2012 Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development, Member States agreed to establish the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and created the intergovernmental Open Working Group on SDGs, which propose 17 goals 169 targets, based on various reports of UN agencies and Member State discussions. 

From January to July 2015, 8 sessions of intergovernmental negotiations were held to reach agreement on the outcome document, which was adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015, entitled “Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.” 

The 2030 Agenda, which will guide the international community’s development efforts from 2016 to 2030, consists of 5 sections: the preamble, declaration, sustainable development goals and targets, the means of implementation and global partnership, and follow-up and review. The new agenda applies to both developed and developing countries and stresses the universality through balanced inclusion of social, economic and environmental aspects of development. 

Notably, the agenda emphasizes the inclusion of the marginalized and vulnerable groups of people in the implementation process and urges the world to leave no one behind. While highlighting the primary responsibility of States for the successful implementation of the SDGs, the agenda also recognizes the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships as an indispensable prerequisite. In addition, the agenda establishes detailed means of implementation alongside an integrated, systematic, and multi-level follow-up and review framework, including the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF).

In the preparatory process of the 2030 Agenda, the Republic of Korea has actively participated in discussions by focusing on issues of the rule of law, good governance, education, rural development, women, and the rights of persons with disabilities. Based on its unique experience in achieving political and economic development, the Republic of Korea continues to share its best practices and know-hows. The Republic of Korea held the Presidency of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) from July 2015 to July 2016, playing a leading role in laying the ground work for establishing the follow-up and review mechanisms of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and participated in the presentation of voluntary national reviews (VNRs) under the auspices of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). 

After the fist four year review cycle, the UN Member States adopted the Decade of Action in order to expedite the implementation of SDGs at the SDG Summit, to make commitments to enhance instruments regarding financing for development and national strategy for SDGs. At the following SDG summit to be held In September 2023, they will take a mid-term review for the purpose of achieving SDGs aiming by 2030, with the halfway for the target date.

With COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tension, and food-energy crisis looming, the world witnessed the effort for achieving the SDGs in the wrong direction. Bearing this serious situation in mind, the Republic of Korea will continue to make efforts to a successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda both at domestic and global levels. In the multilateral fora, it will share its unique experience of attaining both economic growth and democratization, and furthermore boost its cooperation with developing countries in the field of its strength, such as digital technology.

Climate Change

 Climate change is a serious threat to sustainable development as it undermines the efforts and gains of development, and UN Secretary-General Guterres has warned of the looming era of 'global boiling'. To address this crisis, the international community adopted the Paris Agreement on a new, post-2020 climate change framework at the 2015 Paris Climate Change Conference (COP21). With this Agreement, all Member States are now committed to partake in global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to keep the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, which will be reviewed every five years.

The UN has made significant contribution in securing political momentum and pushing further climate action, including calling for the swift entry into force of the Paris Agreement and its implementation through the High-Level Signing Ceremony for the Paris Agreement in April 2016 and the High-level Event for entry into force of the Paris Agreement in September 2016. Such efforts led to the Paris Agreement entering into force in November 2016, and the Republic of Korea deposited its instrument of ratification of the Paris Agreement in November 2016 which took effect domestically in December 2016. Since then, UN Secretary-General Guterres has hosted a series of climate summits such as Climate Action Summit 2019 and Climate Ambition Summit 2023 to further boost the efforts to keep the 1.5 degree temperature goal alive.

For its part, the Republic of Korea submitted its 2030 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in December 2021 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% in 2030 compared to the 2018 levels, and the Republic of Korea is employing a whole-of-government approach with the aim to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. In particular, the Republic of Korea is advocating a Carbon-free Energy (CFE) Initiative that accelerate clean energy transition through the use of renewables, nuclear energy, hydrogen, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and aspires to play the role of a 'Green Ladder' to support climate-vulnerable Global South through hosting the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and making further voluntary financial pledges. Through these efforts, the Republic of Korea will continue to spearhead the fight against climate crisis as a 'Global Pivotal State'. 

Moreover in the UN Security Council, the climate change is more and more viewed as a threat multiplier that exacerbates conflicts and instability, through its first open debate in 2007 on the impact of climate change on international peace and security and subsequent deliberations including on Lake Chad and Sahel region. As a 2024-2025 non-permanent member of the Security Council, the Republic of Korea has joined the Joint Pledgers on Climate, Peace, and Security, and is actively engaging in deliberations to support climate-vulnerable countries particularly in Africa and the Pacifics.