• Session 2, "Talking Green Growth: The Path to Sustainable Jobs" explored how green growth strategies can create quality jobs and drive inclusive, sustainable economic transformation. It featured high-level experts including: Maitreyi B Das, Director, Trust Funds and Partner Relations, Development Finance Vice Presidency, World Bank Group; Richard Damania, Chief Economist, Planet Vice Presidency, World Bank Group; Young-Hun Oh, Governor of Jeju Self-Governing Province, The Republic of Korea; Dongsoo Kang, Executive Director, Global Knowledge Exchange & Development Center (GKEDC), Korea Development Institute (KDI); and Phillemon Mathebula, Chief Director, Planning, Policy and Climate Change Services, Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs, South Africa.

• Session 3, KGGTF: Our Global Impact, Today and Tomorrow, showcased KGGTF’s global engagement and looked ahead at how, together with Korea's MOEF, green growth can be scaled worldwide to drive innovation, resilience, and job creation for a sustainable future.

• Session 4, KGGTF: Global Green Growth Practices and Innovations, showcased KGGTF’s impact, success stories, and innovative practices from Korean and global partners.

• Session 5 launched the report "Reboot Development: The Economics of a Livable Planet" and lead author Richard Damania reflected on degraded natural wealth being not only an environmental problem but also an economic liability. He highlighted the importance of policymakers connecting the dots across land, air, and water sectors to  drive strong, sustainable economic growth.

• Session 6, Jobs and Technology, explored how technology-driven green growth can generate quality green jobs and enhance institutional capacity. Session participants included: Richard Damania, World Bank Group; Gaurav Nayyar, Economic Adviser, World Bank Group; Omar Arias, Deputy Chief Economist, World Bank Group; Hyungna Oh, Professor, Kyung Hee University; Etienne Raffi Kechichian, Senior Financial Sector Economist, World Bank Group, and Jae Hyung Kwon, Senior Country Officer, IFC.

• Session 7, AI and Emerging Technologies Driving Green Growth, explored how AI and emerging technologies are transforming future green growth and employment opportunities across institutions and sectors. It opened with a keynote speech by Yeon Hak Kim, Science and ICT Attaché, Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the USA.

Day 2: The Green Growth Path to Scale and Impact: Tuesday, October 21

• Financing & Partnership Opportunities with Korean Institutions: Explored co-financing and strategic partnership opportunities with leading Korean institutions (KEXIM, KDI, NIGT, SMG, KEITI, ICAK). 

• Water Digitalization: Disseminated the importance of collaboration with technologies in limited resource settings for green growth (K-water, KE/KEITI).

• Transport—Smart & Resilient Railways: Explored the future of rail through innovations that enhance efficiency, safety, and climate resilience. Case studies showcased how modern rail systems are driving economic revitalization, cutting emissions, creating jobs, and seamlessly connecting cities and regions (KORAIL, KORASS, KNUT, ICTR).

• Environment—Pollution and Waste: Explored advanced recycling systems, waste-to-energy technologies, and progressive policy frameworks that cut pollution, boost industrial resilience, and drive the transition to a circular economy (KECO, SLC, Jeju, KEI).

• Urban—Livable Cities: Examined inspiring approaches from Korea and around the world that enhance livability, fuel economic growth, and strengthen resilience (MOLIT, SMG/SUSA, Goyang).

• Energy—Next-Gen Systems & Nuclear: Explored clean energy transformation, from renewable energy breakthroughs and grid optimization to energy efficiency solutions. It also reflected on emerging technologies and policy innovations shaping the next wave of energy systems that are secure, and sustainable (KEPCO, KETEP, KEA, KHNP, KINGS).

• Environment—Mining Sites: Explored innovative approaches to repurposing retired mines, drawing on Korea’s experience of converting former sites into tourism destinations, museums, and biodiversity reserves.

• Energy—Nuclear  & Carbon-Free Energy: Focused on the role of nuclear energy in advancing the next generation of climate and energy strategies. Discussions focused on nuclear technologies, safety, financing models, and policy trends that position nuclear as part of a diversified low-carbon pathway (KEPCO, KETEP, KEA).

• Environment—Forestry: Focused on forest restoration, and wildfire prevention and response while highlighting the role of policy, technology, and community partnerships in protecting biodiversity and preparing for forest-related disasters (AFoCO, NIFOS, KOFPI).

• Urban—Housing: Explored how the World Bank Group is supporting public and private interventions to overcome supply and demand bottlenecks, drawing on global expertise and Korea’s successful green building and housing policies.

• Climate Finance: Showcased Korea’s leadership and lessons from World Bank operations and discussed how innovative financing models are turning climate ambition into tangible results on the ground (KCCI, KDI/GKEDC, NIGT).

Presentation files are available on the KGGTF event page here.

Day 3 — The Green Growth Path into the Future: Wednesday, October 22

Day 3 highlights focused on policy pathways and next-gen talent and technology:

• Environment - Blue Economy: Covered marine spatial planning, blue carbon initiatives, and sustainable maritime transport; and explored how ocean stewardship can restore ecosystems (KMI, FIPA).

• Urban Transport & Energy Nexus: Highlighted how innovation and clean energy adoption can create transport systems that are sustainable, resilient, and people-centered (SUSA, KOTI).

• Agriculture: Highlighted Korea’s integrated approach to agricultural transformation and where policy, technology, and institutional partnerships work together to drive sustainable growth (MAFRA, RDA, EPIS, KRC, NCAM).

• Youth Leadership and Innovation: Put a spotlight on the leadership and innovation of young changemakers advancing climate action and sustainability.

• Digital & AI for Sustainability: Showcased applications in integrated urban systems and energy efficient networks, and demonstrated how technology can optimize services, lower environmental impacts, and drive economic competitiveness (NIA, Digital GP).

Presentation files are available on the KGGTF event page here.

KGID 2025 Bilateral Meetings

KGID 2025 bilateral meetings served as a dynamic platform to deepen collaboration between the World Bank and Korean partners. Over three days, 39 Korean institutions and 42 World Bank teams and client countries held more than 90 bilateral and multilateral meetings, including 15 high-level meetings. Discussions ranged across shared priorities—digital innovation, energy transition, smart agriculture, water, and environmental management—and emphasized a collective drive to scale innovation and sustainability. 

KGID 2025 Media Highlights

KGID 2025 received extensive media coverage in various outlets. Click the links below to peruse the articles.

Knowledge Partners (K-Partners) at KGID 2025

Over 110 delegates from Korea, representing 45 partner organizations,  attended KGID 2025 where they engaged in session presentations and more than 90 bilateral meetings with World Bank management and project teams across 7 green growth sectors including agriculture, digital transformation, energy, environment, transport, urban development, and water.

The list of K-Partners that attended KGID 2025 is pictured below.

About KGGTF

The Korea Green Growth Trust Fund (KGGTF), a partnership between the World Bank and the Republic of Korea, is crucial to the World Bank’s vision of creating "a World Free of Poverty on a Livable Planet." Since its inception in 2012, KGGTF has been a technology-driven and implementation-focused trust fund, supporting partner countries in developing innovative and sustainable solutions, strategies, and investments geared towards Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID). The KGGTF portfolio has supported 236 green growth programs and activities worldwide, amounting to approximately $128 million and linked to over $31 billion in World Bank Group lending and external co-financing.