By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The administration has set the goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 21-30 percent by 2020, relative to the ``business as usual'' (BAU) scenario, the Presidential Committee on Green Growth said Tuesday.
The BAU refers to the level of greenhouse gas emissions the country is forecast to reach by a certain year if emissions grow at their current pace.
The committee suggested three goals, for the short- mid- and long-terms, to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 21 percent, 27 percent and 30 percent, respectively, by 2020 relative to the level of BAU.
The targets represent an 8 percent increase, a freeze and a 4 percent cut, respectively, when compared to the country's greenhouse gas emissions in 2005, the committee said.
The announcement came after President Lee Myung-bak pledged last month to establish goals for Korea's greenhouse gas emissions this year in a bid to join global efforts to fight climate change.
Firms complain that they will suffer huge costs in meeting the government-set goals for greenhouse gas emissions, while on the other side, environmental groups urge the government to set more ambitious goals.
``The government's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions will encourage firms to introduce emission-free technologies. In the long term, there will be a significant change in the economic structure,'' said Bang Ki-yeol, a researcher at the Korea Energy Economics Institute.
According to the International Energy Agency, Korea was the 16th largest greenhouse gas emitter in the world as of 2005, with 538 million tons of CO2.
Individuals were found to be responsible for the emission of 11.1 tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted if a 2,000-cc Sonata passenger car were to travel between Seoul and Busan 55 times, the committee said.
Based on the scenarios, the administration will finalize its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emission this year after gathering public opinion.
``We support the global vision of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2050 and plan to announce various measures this year to cut our emissions,'' a committee spokesman said. ``Korea has embraced the `low-carbon, green-growth' paradigm. We strongly believe that this will be the new paradigm for the growth and development of the world in the future.''