A presidential commission on green growth was formally launched by President Lee Myung-bak on Monday (Feb. 16).

President Lee presided over the first session of the commission held at Cheong Wa Dae that morning. He said, "Green growth is not a matter of choice, but a requirement that we must fulfill by all means for our future survival. What matters is whether we can take the lead based on our own original technology, or whether we have to lag behind other countries."

The presidential green growth commission is an agency to implement the national vision for "low carbon, green growth," which President Lee set forth in his address celebrating Liberation Day on Aug. 15 last year. Prime Minister Han Seung-soo and Kim Hyung-kook, a professor emeritus of Seoul National University, will jointly chair the commission.

The commission consists of 47 members -- 29 business and social leaders and 18 public servants and chiefs of government-funded think tanks -- working under three subcommittees on green growth and industry; climate change and energy; and green life and sustainable development.

In addition, a green growth planning office to be led by Woo Ki-jong, former chief of the strategic FTA planning office, and Kim Sang-hyup, the presidential secretary for future vision, will assist in the commission.

Aside from the three subcommittees, the commission will operate a working group of about 60 experts to make it possible for the government, the private sector, and the group of experts to communicate and cooperate with each other sufficiently.

In the meantime, Cheong Wa Dae has decided to turn itself into a "green office," while cutting by more than 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions by 2012 by reducing the amount of resources used, including energy and water, and waste.