Korea to hold eco-friendly U.N. biodiversity meeting

South Korea will endeavor to make a meeting on an environmental convention of the United Nations, slated for late this month, eco-friendly by building convention halls using environmentally-sound materials, officials said Thursday.

The 12th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, dubbed COP 12, takes place at Alpensia resort in PyeongChang, some 180 kilometers southeast of Seoul, from Sept. 29 through Oct. 17, with representatives from 194 countries in attendance.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), informally known as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty addressing all aspects of biological diversity including genetic resources, species and ecosystems. It is one of the three U.N. conventions aimed at protecting the environment along with the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

The Ministry of Environment said about 95 percent of the construction material for new convention halls will be from used and reusable products.

The ministry will also introduce IT technologies in building the venues in a bid to minimize waste.

In addition, nine knockdown mobile lavatories that are reusable will be stationed around the convention venues, it said.

An energy-saving lighting system will contribute to reducing electricity consumption and the emission of carbon dioxide.

The ministry said it will put up a large-size digital information display around the venues and provide online notifications, which will help reduce the use of paper by more than 50 percent.

A total of 16 four or eight-seat electric vehicles will be operated during the conference.

In an effort to curb the consumption of disposable products, the ministry will recommend participants to refrain from using unnecessary plastic bottles by installing drinking water facilities.

The ministry plans to provide locally-produced food to participants to reduce greenhouse gases and transportation costs and raise funds for offsetting greenhouse gases, which will be donated to -related institutions after the conference.

"We considered the current trend of large-scale international events that place importance on the environment (in preparation of the meeting)," said Kim Sang-hoon, director-general of Task Force Team. (Yonhap)