Our School's Carbon Emissions Report

by Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education X ENOMAD X GogoSchool Association

"Net Zero Leading School" is a project designed to pursue carbon neutrality in elementary school. The schools measured and analyzed their carbon emissions, and received "Our School's Carbon Emissions Report" based on this data.

The report provides information on categorized annual amount of carbon emissions, as well as trends in monthly, daily, and hourly electricity consumption. 

School Faculties and Staffs Discussing Net Zero

After attending a lecture on the climate crisis by Hyerin Park, the CEO of ENOMAD, the faculties and staffs of "Net Zero Leading School" consulted with her about reduction of carbon emissions.

The school faculties and staffs set specific goals to reduce carbon emissions and discussed various practical methods suitable for our school's circumstances.

Explaining the carbon school report to the entire students

Students explained our school's carbon emissions status comparing with other schools. Among scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, scope 2, which includes electricity usage, constitutes the largest portion. They drew the attention of teachers and students to electricity usage and suggested methods to enhance electrical efficiency.

Future climate leaders

Students invited all the students of school to our classroom and provided a detailed explanation of our school's carbon emission report, which was not covered in the broadcast. 

They showed the activity guide of the Doughnut Peach Project that we've been working on for the past year showcasing the results we've achieved.

Revealing the reality of discarded milk

Students collected the leftover milk at our school. They quantified the leftover data and calculated the amount of water needed to purify milk. 

They shared cereal to drink leftover milk.

Ji-min, Lee(12)

Hello, my name is ji-min Lee, an elementary school student from South Korea. My dream is to become a lawyer, aiming to resolve and rectify societal issues based on the social contract of law for a better society. However, recently, as the damages from climate change have become more severe, I've been anxious about whether a future where I can realize my goals and dreams can still come true.

In response to concerns like mine, our class teacher and classmates are studying climate change and carbon neutrality. We learned about different types of carbon emissions such as Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3, and explored ways to reduce the most significant contributor, electricity usage. We measured and analyzed the power consumption of appliances in our class and homes to find ways to reduce it. When I shared what I learned with my parents, they agreed to join efforts to reduce carbon emissions, and during the summer vacation, we practiced carbon neutrality.

Changing familiar habits was more uncomfortable and challenging than I thought. However, upon returning to school, as classmates shared the activities they had undertaken at their homes, I realized that our collective efforts could indeed bring about change. Still, can this problem be solved solely through our class's efforts? To find the answer to this question, I stand before you today.

South Korea ranks 40th out of 44 countries in the proportion of renewable energy generation. We mainly produce electricity from petroleum and coal, with renewable energy accounting for only 7.5%. We have set an almost impossible goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. However, through this experience, I discovered that we can turn the impossible into possible. It requires understanding the problems we all face, finding the direction we need to move in, and each person identifying their role and taking practical steps.

My dream is to become a lawyer, but if we continue without taking any action, my dream may vanish. We must no longer turn away from the choices we must make or postpone them. Please help us preserve our future so that children like us can dream new dreams and study hard toward their goals.

Generating Eco-Friendly Energy from Local rivers

Gwanseol Elementary School is a small school in one of the least populated areas in Korea, abundant with mountains and rivers. With a total student population of 40, our school is situated right next to mountains and rivers. Many students commute to school either by walking or using the school bus. We believe in educating our students about the principles of electricity generation, and to provide a hands-on experience with eco-friendly energy production, we have employed personal hydroelectric generators. 

Fishing elecrity

Personal hydroelectric generators utilize the flow of water to generate rotational energy, which is then stored in batteries as electrical energy. Students actively search for suitable locations to set up the generators and directly engage in 'fishing' electricity by turning the generators themselves (Device: UNO from ENOMAD)

Checking the Harvested Electricity 

Students verify the electricity they 'caught' by directly going to the local river. They confirm the presence of electricity by lighting a bulb and charging a mobile phone using the stored energy in the battery. Through this process, they grasp the potential of environmentally friendly electricity generation that doesn't produce carbon emissions. (Device: UNO from ENOMAD)