Following news of growing climate dangers around the world, churches in South Korea are pledging to work towards "carbon neutrality".

According to the Vatican's Fides news agency, the Catholic Bishops' meeting of Korea's Commission for the Environment and Ecology will host a meeting on June 5 where all dioceses and parishes will be given instructions on how to achieve zero net emissions.

During the conference, Sogang University professor Father Cho Hyeon-Cheol SJ will give a talk on "Church's carbon neutrality for ecological repentance," which will center on one of the messages of Laudato si' that humans have been the drivers of climate change and that some form of "ecological repentance" is required to start over and move towards a society that is more respectful of Creation.

There will also be a discussion on renewable energy. The Commission has examined the potential for an energy conversion movement in the city of Incheon because it believes that carbon neutrality can be attained through the generation of wind energy.

Pope Francis wrote in his encyclical Laudato si that a positive relationship with the environment requires us to acknowledge our faults, which results in genuine remorse and a desire to change.

In Laudato si, Pope Francis also asked people to stop using fossil fuels, which are one of the most harmful industries in the world. According to the World Nuclear Association, up to 34 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide were released annually from burning fossil fuels as of last year.

A plan to invest around 7.1 billion dollars in "Green New Deal" initiatives, including the development of renewable energy facilities, was unveiled by South Korea in 2020.

The state has declared its intention to have a carbon-neutral country by 2050 in the same year. However, at the moment, the state still gets about 40% of its energy from coal and less than 6% from renewable sources.