CO2 Trading System
The Korea Exchange’s emissions trading system development has come to a halt, due to strong opposition from the business and industrial community. The government is planning to deal with it by reexamining the implementation date and raising the emissions cap.
Previously, the Emissions Trading Scheme was planned to be launched in January next year. However, an increasing number of local manufacturers have been opposed to the plan over concerns about the possibility of deteriorating competitiveness.
Nonetheless, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of Environment are showing no progress at all in the reexamination process. “Nothing has been fixed as to how to adjust the emissions cap and how to respond to the industrial demand for a disclosure on BAU,” the former explained, adding, “In other words, we have nothing clear yet.”
In the meantime, a high-ranking executive at the Korea Exchange mentioned that the government’s postponement in the implementation of the emissions trading system will be the number one risk for his organization. It is planning to resume the system development once the result of the review is made available. January 2015 appears to be becoming a tall order though.