■ The international community prioritizes establishing participatory and collaborative systems involving local residents and civil society to navigate an effective transition toward carbon neutrality while responding to the climate and biodiversity crises. Accordingly, the Korean government established the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment (the Ministry), proposing the coordination and integration of climate, energy, and environment policies and community engagement as a national agenda (project numbers 39 and 40). Now is the time for Jeonbuk State to 1) break with public-led environmental policies; 2) expand private sector cooperation to facilitate civil society participation, promote environmental awareness, and mainstream natural environment conservation, ecological asset utilization, and environmental education; and 3) construct relevant platforms to accelerate Jeonbuk-specific integrated policies.

■ Gyeonggido and Gyeongnam established the Gyeonggi Environment and Energy Promotion Agency and the Gyeongsanmando Environment Foundation, respectively, thus consolidating independently operated and privately supported organizations and subsequently strengthening their response capacity to effectively address environmental issues (e.g., climate and biodiversity crises). These two provinces are also strengthening their efforts to increase environmental awareness and participation in the private sector, provide education and training, support commercialization projects to promote environmental industries, and enhance ecosystem services. 

■ As part of its initiative to promote projects and encourage civil society participation, Jeonbuk State has sought to cope with the climate crisis, achieve carbon neutrality, and foster environmental education and ecotourism through the following organizations since 1980: Jeonbuk State Natural Environment Research Institute; Jeonbuk State Council Sustainable Development; Jeonbuk Green Environment Center; Jeonbuk State Environmental Education Center; Jeonbuk Ecotourism Promotion Support Center; and Jeonbuk Carbon Neutrality Support Center. However, these independently operated organizations leave some opportunities for improvement with regard to  securing professional staff and achieving financial stability, which serves as obstacles to Jeonbuk State’s ability to coordinate and accelerate locally driven environmental policies. Thus, to align with the policies pursued by the Ministry and embody Jeonbuk global bioeconomy cities, Jeonbuk State is required to launch an integrated intermediary support organization dedicated to seamlessly integrating practical environmental roadmaps for the private sector into Jeonbuk-specific environmental policies. 

■ In sum, we propose that Jeonbuk State launch the Jeonbuk Climate Energy and Environment Promotion Agency as a special case according to the Jeonbuk Special Act for climate crisis response, energy transition, and resident participation-driven environmental policies. Given the differences in financial support mechanisms, locations, and management departments across institutions, we propose a step-by-step launch. The proposed agency will be responsible for tangible projects for climate and energy transition, integrated environmental education for citizen participation, citizen ecological survey and informatization, promotion of ecotourism and ecological economy, Jeonbuk-specific environmental impact assessment, and ecosystem service expansion projects. We request that funds for promoting region-specific, private participation-driven climate and environmental policies be financed through the National Climate Response Fund and Jeonbuk Climate Response Fund stipulated in Jeonbuk ordinances.

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