Nine out of 10 Korean manufacturers believe that overseas carbon neutrality policies such as those in the United States and Europe affect their business operations, a survey found.
According to the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which recently surveyed 300 Korean manufacturing companies on their carbon neutrality responses and demand for electric power, they expect their electricity use to increase 5.9 percent a year on average during their carbon neutrality implementation periods until the end of 2050.
The International Energy Agency (IEA), in its 2023 Net-Zero Report, also projected that demand for electricity in 2050 will be 2.5 times higher than in 2022 under the assumption of reaching carbon neutrality. This is because electrification drives demand for electricity.
The largest number of companies said that they will prioritize prices (66.7 percent), followed by stable supply (21.3 percent), environmental friendliness (7.3 percent), and safety of use (4.7 percent) if they can choose electric power generation sources.
When the four factors were scored in order of preferences and converted to percentages, prices received a total score of 87, reliability 68, safety 50 and environmental friendliness 46.
The respondents cited international conflicts and high oil prices (50.3 percent), reckless electricity consumption (17.7 percent), KEPCO’s huge debts (17.0 percent), and conflicts among local residents over the construction of power generation infrastructure (13.7 percent) as factors that hinder stable electricity supply.
Moreover, 50.7 percent of the companies surveyed said they were not yet affected by changes in industrial environments due to carbon neutrality but will be in the future, while 41.3 percent said they were already affected directly or indirectly.
Decarbonized energy (40.3 percent) was cited as the most important matter for achieving carbon neutrality, followed by process efficiency (23.7 percent) and producing eco-friendly products (12.0 percent).
With respect to multiple choices for promoting electrification to achieve carbon neutrality, their areas of interest were process electrification (67.3 percent), heating and cooling facility electrification (38.3 percent), and product electrification (13.7 percent).
When asked about electricity policies to prepare for carbon neutrality, the respondents made multiple choices. They said that it was necessary to maintain consistency in mid- to long-term national energy policies (31.7 percent), expand related support policies (31.3 percent), maintain the affordability of electricity prices (29.0 percent), and improve the electricity market structure and the electric rate system (13.3 percent).