The United Nations (UN) recommends all countries to seek balance and harmony in economic growth, environmental conservation, and social development and pursue inclusive society with the Rio Declaration in 1992, the Johannesburg Declaration in 2002, and Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Accordingly, Korea legislated the Framework Act on Sustainable Development in 2007 and established and implemented National Sustainable Development Strategies.

With the legislation of the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth in 2010, however, “sustainable development” was downgraded to a sub-concept of “green growth,” the Framework Act on Sustainable Development to the Sustainable Development Act, and National Sustainable Development Strategies to Sustainable Development Master Plans, and  the National Sustainable Development Committee from under the President to under the Ministry of Environment, and a local implementation system was virtually abolished, causing fundamental problems for the central and local governments to implement sustainable development.

In this regard, this Act aims to reinstate or upgrade legal concepts and statuses and local implementation systems related to sustainable development and govern the legal basis for Korean Sustainable Development Goals (K-SDGs, 2018) and related policies.

Details

A. Require the central government and the head of the local government to establish and implement National or Local Sustainable Development Basic Strategies on a 20-year basis to realize sustainable development (Articles 8 and 9).

B. Require the head of the central administrative agency and the head of the local government to establish and implement the Central Implementation Plans and Local Implementation Plans on a 5-year basis to pursue National or Local Sustainable Development Basic Strategies, and the National Sustainable Development Committee and the Local Sustainable Development Committee to the progress of Central Implementation Plans and Local Implementation Plans on a 1-year basis (Articles 10 and 12).

C. Require the central administrative agency or the local government to consult with the National Sustainable Development Committee or the Local Sustainable Development Committee in establishing and amending laws and ordinances affecting sustainable development or related to Sustainable Development Basic Strategies or formulating or changing administrative plans (Article 14).

D. Require the central and local governments to reflect the principles of sustainable development and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) and develop and distribute sustainable development indicators for the central and local governments (Article 16).

E. Put in place the National Committee and the Local Committee under the President and the head of the local government to review major policies to push for sustainable development centrally and locally (Articles 18 and 21).

F. Require the central and local governments to seek sustainable development measures to respond to climate and environmental crises, promote sustainable economic growth through green transition, implement inclusive society, and cooperate with stakeholders (Articles 24 through 26).

G. Allow the central and local governments to establish and operate relevant information networks to provide people with easy access to information on sustainable development or designate and operate research centers (Article 28).

H. Allow the central and local governments to expand education and promotion or implement a certification program to encourage local communities, enterprises, organizations, and schools to fully engage in sustainable policies and activities, and prepare a platform for gathering feedback from various stakeholders in the process of pursuing SDGs (Articles 29 and 30).