NEW ORLEANS — Mayor LaToya Cantrell today will travel to Busan, South Korea to attend and participate in the World Climate Industry Expo taking place May 25-27, 2023. This year’s theme is, “Rising Above the Climate Crisis Towards Sustainable Prosperity.”
“It is an extreme honor to be the only U.S. Mayor to attend and participate in this year’s World Climate Industry Expo in Busan, South Korea,” said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “This presents the perfect opportunity to showcase the climate and sustainability action plans New Orleans has championed on a global stage. As a low-lying coastal city, we are on the front lines of an already changing climate, and now, more than ever, we must take advantage of opportunities like these to see how other countries are approaching the same issue and share best practices. Collective thought processes will allow all leaders in attendance to listen, learn, react and see how to best bring more innovative initiatives to our city. I will continue to advocate for the City of New Orleans both domestically and internationally to ensure we are implementing the best, most reliable and beneficial projects to help achieve our goal of net zero, or carbon-neutrality, by 2050.”
On Thursday, May 25, Mayor Cantrell will participate in a panel discussion titled, “Rising Seas and Shifting Shores: The Conundrum of Coastal Living,” along with Director General of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure Amit Prothi, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Engineer for Oceanix Matteo Pietrobelli and Founder of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines Mitzi Prothi. The panel will be moderated by New York Times Correspondent Victoria Kim of Seoul, South Korea, and they will discuss, in depth, the impacts of living in a coastal area and how creating new modern ways to combat change associated with coastal living can have a positive impact on the area. This panel will also discuss how coastal communities can adapt and the challenges presented.
On Friday, May 26, Mayor Cantrell will participate in a City Mayor’s Roundtable discussion titled, “Setting and Achieving Goals for Smart Cities to Achieve Carbon Neutrality.” Mayor Cantrell will participate in the conversation alongside Mayor Park Hyeong-joon of Busan, Mayor Wayne Brown of Auckland, New Zealand, Deputy Vice Mayor Abderrahim Outass of Casablanca, Morocco, Mayor Jesper Frost Rasmussen of Esbjerg, Denmark and several other leaders from various municipalities across the world. This roundtable will provide leaders with an opportunity to share groundbreaking ideas and solutions to discover the best practices of carbon-neutrality. Mayors and City Representatives participating in this roundtable all share the common understanding that it is crucial to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and bring our cities to carbon-neutrality to address the current climate crisis.
Mayor Cantrell will also attend a Business Leaders Roundtable, where she will hear from global business leaders and high-ranking government officials to discuss the role of corporations in achieving a sustainable future.
The World Climate Industry Expo creates a unique opportunity to showcase the latest technologies and policies in the global climate environment and energy fields to cope with the climate crisis. This is being done intentionally by integrating the Energy Industry Exhibition and the Carbon Neutral Exhibition in the Seoul metropolitan area and the International Environmental Energy Industry Exhibition (ENTECH) held in Busan.
Mayor Cantrell will return to New Orleans on Sunday, May 28.
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