Mr. Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP,
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
My young friends and boys and girls,

I am very pleased to speak to you on the occasion of the TUNZA International Children and Youth Conference on the Environment 2009. I would like to thank the UNEP for their kind invitation.




On behalf of the government of the Republic of Korea, I would like to extend my warmest welcome to all of you, particularly to those foreign participants who have made a long journey to Korea for this special event.



I am sure that many of you are new to Daejeon. If you had the time to look around the city and its adjacent areas, you will have noticed that Daejeon city is making a lot of efforts to green the region. I am aware that as a participant of the 70 Billion Tree Campaign led by the UNEP, Daejeon promotes the 30 million trees project. I truly hope that this campaign will contribute significantly to mitigating global carbon emissions.



I am very pleased and happy to stand before you, so many children and youths from around the world. Many times I have been surprised to find the remarkable environmental consciousness exhibited by children and youth. And I sincerely believe that you, the future leaders of the world, are the ones who will do the best job in looking after our fragile planet, earth.