Korea joins green trade pact talks as second round opens in Seoul

South Korea will host the second official round of negotiations on the Green Economy Partnership Agreement in Seoul from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, the industry ministry said Tuesday, marking Seoul's first full participation in talks on a pact meant to set common rules for trade-related climate measures.

About 20 negotiators from South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore and Chile will take part, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The three other countries announced plans to pursue the agreement on the sidelines of the APEC summit last October and began negotiations in Singapore in July.

Korea formalised its participation this month through an exchange of letters between trade ministers on Sept. 11. The agreement covers joint standards among members for trade-related climate measures of the kind the European Union has introduced with its carbon border adjustment mechanism, and is intended to promote trade in low-emission products such as low-carbon steel.

Negotiators will focus on criteria for identifying low-emission and environmental goods, ways to expand trade in those products, and cooperation on the use of sustainable aviation fuel in the aviation sector.

"Korea's participation in GEPA has entered full swing with the opening of this second round of negotiations," said Kim Jang-hee, the ministry's deputy minister for new trade strategy. "We will negotiate actively so that efforts to respond to climate change and expand the green market lead to stronger competitiveness for our industries and a head start in new markets."

The second round is scheduled to run through Friday.