Audi Volkswagen Korea is committed to going net zero by 2050 and hopes to set an example for the car industry, the automaker said Friday.

In a press conference, Audi Volkswagen Korea Group Managing Director Rene Koneberg said pursuing carbon neutrality is a task that everyone should work together to achieve.

To highlight the seriousness of the climate change issue and the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, Audi Volkswagen Korea has also opened an exhibition titled “goTOzero” at the Seoul Wave Art Center in Seocho-gu, Seoul, where the press event was held.

The exhibition, which kicked off Friday and runs until June 13, features the concept of a virtual net zero island. Anyone who is interested can visit without reservations.

At the exhibition, the automaker presented its electric vehicle platforms MEB and MLB for the first time in South Korea. Also on display are the ID.3 and ID.4 EVs, which use the MEB platform, and the Audi e-Tron, which uses the MLB evo platform.

The automaker invited three experts for a discussion Friday: Lee Yu-jin, a researcher and member of the board of directors at the Green Transition Institute; Kim Ji-seok, a climate and energy specialist at Greenpeace Korea; and Lee Hang-koo, a researcher at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute.

“Climate change affects us all. Climate change is a global focus and there are a lot of countries that are dedicated in increasing their efforts to address the climate change,” Koneberg said.

Koneberg reiterated the group’s global goals and explained the four steps the company is taking to achieve its net zero goal. It will start by cutting emissions in the production phase. The second stage is the electrification of its vehicles, the third is using renewable energy sources and the fourth is reusing its EV batteries.

Previously, Volkswagen Group announced plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 30 percent by 2025, compared with 2015, and ultimately achieve net zero by 2050.

According to the automaker, about 14 percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions come from transportation, the result of burning fossil fuel.

Volkswagen Group revealed that total carbon emissions from all the cars produced by its 12 brands amount to about 369 million tons, accounting for about 2 percent of the world’s emissions.

The automotive group’s environmental slogan “goTOzero” embodies its commitment to protecting the environment and minimizing the environmental impact of all its products at all stages of the product life cycle.

To take part in the global movement to reduce humanity’s carbon footprint, and take responsibility, Volkswagen Group committed itself to the goals of the Paris Agreement in 2019, becoming the first automotive company to do so.

By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)