New climate clock at Incheon City Hall counts down 6 years, 91 days

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

National

Forestry

Sat, September 23, 2023 | 07:49

New climate clock at Incheon City Hall counts down 6 years, 91 days

Posted : 2023-04-25 09:00

Updated : 2023-04-26 10:17

A climate clock is set up in front of Incheon City Hall, Saturday, to mark Earth Day that falls on April 22. Courtesy of Incheon Metropolitan City

By Ko Dong-hwan

On the occasion of Earth Day, observed on April 22 each year, Incheon Metropolitan City set up a climate clock, a public awareness-raising installation counting down how much time is left until the average global temperature increases to 1.5 degree Celsius higher than pre-Industrial Revolution level.

The digital clock, installed on the 53rd Earth Day on Saturday, indicated the remaining time was six years and 91 days as of the day.

According to the Environmental and Climate Policy Division under the city government, it was the first clock of its kind to be installed at the headquarters of a municipal government in the country.

Ticking based on data from the Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change in Berlin, Germany, a climate clock warns that once time runs out, the global climate conditions will be irreversible. The Earth will see extreme heat events 8.6 times more often than before, according to the city government. It will also see droughts 2.4 more times, precipitation amount will increase by 1.5 times than before and frequency of typhoons will increase by 10 percent more than before.

Global sea levels will rise by between 26 centimeters and 77 centimeters, 70 percent to 90 percent of coral reefs across the world will be endangered, and more than half the natural habitats for six percent of the global populations of insects, six percent of animals and four percent of vertebras will disappear once the clock runs out, the city government said.

But depending on how environmentally consciously the global community pushes forward its actions, the countdown could slow, delaying itself from reaching the deadline.

"We have set up the clock to commemorate Incheon's 2045 Carbon Neutralization vision that saved five years from the country's national carbon emissions reduction goal," said Kim In-soo, chief of the city's Environmental and Climate Policy Division. "We will try to stop and turn back the clock."

The city is particularly keen on carbon neutralization compared to other municipal governments in the country, according to Kim. In addition to setting the city's carbon neutralization plan five years faster than the country's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) timeline last December, the city is where the 48th general assembly of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was held in 2018, during which the "Summary for Policymakers of the Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C" was adopted ― a pinnacle for the ongoing global movement toward curbing the temperature rise. The city, due to the historic event, dubs itself "1.5 Degree Celsius Declaration City."

The city government, to celebrate its climate initiative, introduced a slogan for the day's event: S.T.O.P (Save Together for Our Planet). The city said this means excessive energy consumption, single-use products, carbon emissions and the climate clock should all be stopped.

Some 1,000 city residents and 20 civic groups joined the event at a lawn square in front of City Hall in Namdong District.

Thirty-four official climate clocks are currently set up around the world, including in Seoul, as of Monday, according to Climate Clock's official homepage.

aoshima11@koreatimes.co.kr