[Column] The Growing Significance of Local Elections in an Era of Complex Crises > 게시글

The 9th local elections will be held on June 3. These elections carry a different weight from those of the past, unfolding against a backdrop of deepening uncertainty and multiple, overlapping crises both at home and abroad. It is both the right and the duty of voters to examine what challenges local governments will face over the next four years and to elect leaders capable of meeting them.

One of the many challenges our society will confront going forward is the climate and environmental crisis. Following the global COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) designated climate change, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity as humanity's three major crises at the 2022 UN Environment Assembly. In an analytical report on the economic impacts of these three crises published in the second half of 2025, the OECD found that they act as amplifiers of one another, compounding the economic losses and shocks that disasters produce.

In the near term, climate change threatens the places we live through extreme storms, torrential rains, droughts, severe cold snaps, and massive wildfires. Over the medium and long term, it is set to bring about crises including rising sea levels, soil acidification, desertification, the depletion of water resources, and threats to food security. Among the many pollution challenges we face, the contamination of rivers and soil from hazardous chemicals such as pesticides and the mounting problem of plastic waste generated by the mass production and excessive use of single-use plastics are particularly acute. Large-scale climate disasters and various forms of pollution are also destroying the foundations upon which biodiversity depends, accelerating the risk of gradual species extinction.

The climate and environmental crisis does not respect borders and cannot be resolved by the efforts of any one nation. Since the 1990s, the international community, with the United Nations at its center, has steadily built a global framework for cooperative action on this crisis and has made real gains. Yet these efforts are now running into serious difficulties in implementation due to geopolitical tensions and uncertainty — among them the unilateralism of certain major powers, the Russia–Ukraine war, and the conflict between the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other.
This harsh international reality carries an important message for the approaching June 3 local elections. When we talk about meeting global climate and environmental goals, we often invoke the approach of "Think Globally, Act Locally." The idea is that all nations come together to set shared targets and action plans, while each country independently works out and carries through its own concrete implementation measures. This approach applies equally within a single country. The central government sets the targets and medium-to-long-term plans; local governments then draw up tailored plans suited to their own regional conditions and put them into practice.

The Korean government has announced, both domestically and internationally, its medium-to-long-term goals of carbon neutrality by 2050 and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for 2030/2035 under the Paris Agreement. It has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2018 levels (727.6 million tons) by 2030, and by 53 to 61 percent by 2035. More recently, it unveiled ambitious plans to expand renewable energy deployment to 100 GW by 2030 and to shut down 40 of the 61 coal-fired power plants currently in operation by 2040. To achieve these targets, the government plans to pursue the "Korean Green Transformation" (K-GX) strategy. The national declaration and policy strategies only gain real momentum — and their effects multiply — when they are carried out by local governments as concrete, region-specific initiatives.

Local governments stand at the forefront of the climate and environmental crisis. The policies and strategies that the central government devises for tackling the crisis cannot possibly capture the distinct potential and particular circumstances of every region. Some areas have high potential for wind or solar power; others hold high ecological preservation value or have strong potential as carbon sinks through forest management.

Region-tailored plans that make the most of each area's distinct strengths must be drawn up and executed by the local governments concerned. The central government, for its part, must reform laws and institutions to ensure these local government plans proceed without a hitch. To accelerate the roll-out of renewable energy at the local level, the barriers to entry in the electricity market must be dismantled through market reform. Local governments should also be empowered to build distributed smart grids that enable locally produced energy to be consumed locally, and to encourage residents to take on the role of prosumers.

Local governments are the first line of defense against the potential devastation of disasters such as heat waves, heavy rains, and large-scale wildfires. The faster global warming accelerates, the harder it becomes to predict the frequency, type, and scale of the climate and environmental disasters that lie ahead. It has recently been reported that the UK's Climate Change Committee has recommended the government prepare not only for a 2°C rise in global average temperature — above the 1.5°C threshold — but also for a scenario of 4°C warming. Vulnerability to disaster varies from region to region. It is the responsibility of local governments to understand the specific characteristics and vulnerabilities of their areas, build up their capacity to withstand climate and environmental disasters, and develop tailored measures that strengthen resilience.

The June 3 local elections are an opportunity for residents to choose the people who will lead the charge in keeping their communities safe and securing sustainable development in the face of the climate and environmental crises ahead. Voters must choose dedicated public servants with regional expertise and a spirit of service — not politicians driven by rhetoric or partisan interests. When we elect local workers who understand climate and environmental issues and who pledge region-specific strategies grounded in sustainability, our local communities will be assured a brighter future.

And in doing so, we may also begin to find answers to the other urgent problems our regions face — depopulation, the threat of community extinction, and a shortage of jobs. This is precisely why the criteria for choosing our local representatives in this election should be expertise, a spirit of public service, and an understanding of climate, the environment, and sustainability.