Yeosu City, located on the southern coast of the Republic of Korea, is home to one of the country’s richest landscapes. On one hand, it is a prominent industrial port city, home to the world’s largest petrochemical complex. On the other hand, it is a location full of marine life, with arc clams, white-footed fiddler crabs, jujube ear snails, and other protected wildlife living along the coastline of the city.

This duality is precisely what makes Yeosu a compelling focal point for the theme of green transition. This year, Yeosu has been selected as the host city for the 2026 UNFCCC Climate Week in April, a major international gathering held annually ahead of the UNFCCC COP. Ahead of this global gathering, Yeosu has been steadily building a strong climate agenda aimed at creating a sustainable landscape to sustain both its industrial and natural characteristics.

Yeosu’s climate action to date

Yeosu City has pursued climate leadership since declaring its vision to become an International Pilot City for Climate Protection in 2008. Since then, it has hosted annual Climate Protection Weeks and established a collaborative governance body bringing together local government, industry, and academia to advance climate policymaking. The city has also had an active presence at the UNFCCC COP process, driven by its ambition to host the UNFCCC COP33.

Recently, Yeosu has developed a 2025–2034 Carbon Neutrality Basic Plan, targeting a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2018 levels by 2030, with 59 priority tasks covering five sectors: construction, transport, agriculture and fisheries, waste, and carbon sinks.

Throughout the years, Yeosu has also collaborated closely with ICLEI to expand its climate leadership internationally. Through this partnership, Yeosu joined the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate & Energy (GCoM) in 2021, linking the city’s climate implementation plans to a globally recognised standard. In 2025, the city obtained GCoM’s highest “Compliant” rating.

The city also hosted the first World Climate Cities Forum in 2024 with ICLEI Korea, under the theme “Towards Carbon Neutral Cities.” Building upon the COP28 agreement on the “transition away from fossil fuels” as a core pathway for implementing the Paris Agreement, the forum facilitated policy exchanges amongst local governments on renewable energy transition and nature-based solutions.

Furthermore, at COP30 in Belém, Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do Province, and ICLEI Korea co-hosted a side event at the Korea Pavilion to demonstrate a strong commitment to host the UNFCCC Climate Week. With a focus on multilevel governance for climate action, the event brought together national and local government stakeholders to emphasize the central role of local climate action in achieving the global target of limiting global temperature rise to below 2ºC above pre-industrial levels.

At the centre of green transition, Yeosu hosts the 2026 World Climate Cities Forum

This year’s April UNFCCC Climate Week will take place as a part of Korea’s “K–GX International Week,” coordinated by the Ministry of Climate, Environment, and Energy.

Within the K–GX International Week, Yeosu City, Jeollanam-do Province, and ICLEI Korea will co-host the 2026 World Climate Cities Forum from 21–22 April at the Venezia Hotel Convention Hall in Yeosu. 

Held under the theme “Locally Led Green Transformation,” the forum will bring local government representatives and international stakeholders from around the world to share local commitments and achievements for carbon neutrality and green transition on three defining challenges: transition in energy systems, industrial cities, and port cities.

With 2030 now just four years away, the pressure to act is mounting. South Korea has submitted an enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), committing to a 53–61% reduction in emissions by 2035 — an ambitious target that cannot be met without action at the local level.

The 2026 World Climate Cities Forum is therefore a call to action: a stage for local governments to demonstrate how national commitments can be realized through local action. Cities are not simply where climate impacts are felt, but where climate solutions can be built.