ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the author’s life as a teacher, professor, researcher, practitioner, activist, and institutional participant working on environmental, energy, and climate change issues. Since entering graduate school, her academic life has been focused on the climate crisis and energy transition. She believes that scholars and experts should explore, analyse, debate, and understand the causes of problems, and act within and outside the system to solve problems and create a better society. She considers it one of the greatest honours of her life to have been deeply involved in developing the 2050 carbon neutrality scenario and the 2030 nationally determined contribution as the first co-chair of Korea’s 2050 Carbon Neutrality Commission. She believes the development of the 2050 carbon neutrality scenario is neither sufficient nor complete: it is only a first step toward building a climate-safe society. Therefore, she will continue to challenge herself as an educator, researcher, and social practitioner to solve the unresolved problems in this era of climate crisis.
