Towards Carbon Neutrality
The South Korean government released a series of plans on Dec. 7 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the plan, the government will pursue carbon reduction in every field of economy by replacing fossil fuels as main energy sources with renewable energy. Last year, coal-based power generation accounted for 40.4 percent of the total power generation of South Korea, followed by nuclear power generation (25.9 percent), LNG-based power generation (25.6 percent) and power generation from renewable sources (6.5 percent).
Smart manufacturing and digital transformation will be employed for carbon reduction in sectors emitting more greenhouse gas such as steel and petrochemical. In addition, internal combustion engine vehicles will be replaced with green cars by infrastructure development and hydrogen and electric vehicle popularization. Low-carbon industries such as secondary battery and biotechnology will be further promoted and companies with promising energy and environmental technology will be given more government support.
The government is planning to submit its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2030 and Long-term low greenhouse gas Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) 2050 to the United Nations within this year based on the plans. The government is aiming to reduce South Korea’s national greenhouse gas emissions by 24.4 percent from 2017 to 2030. It will set a higher NDC goal before 2025, too.
Domestic enterprises say that specific action plans should reflect their opinions although they are well aware of the necessity of the plans. “The government should not be too hasty in implementing the policies in that South Korea’s industrial structures are still highly dependent on fossil fuels,” said an oil company. “A more rapid shift toward the era of electric vehicles will jeopardize manufacturers supplying engine vehicle components,” an automaker expressed concerns.
The plans contain nothing as to how to scale down coal-based power generation. Specific target volumes and years are to be set in the fourth quarter of 2021. In addition, the plans mention nothing as to nuclear power generation, which emits no carbon at all and is more economical than all the others. The plans focus on government supports and incentives without mentioning how to give disadvantages to carbon-heavy industries.