Korea Should Actively Join Efforts Against Climate Change

It's only early May, but summer is already here, almost one month earlier than in previous years. But summer's early arrival is increasingly becoming the norm. That is, summer is getting longer, while winter is getting shorter. This phenomenon unquestionably stems from climate change driven by global warming.

Climate change is taking place at an alarming rate worldwide. But what's more noteworthy is that the pace is much faster in Korea than any other place around the world. According to the National Institute of Meteorological Research, the average temperate on the Korean Peninsula climbed 1.7 degrees Celsius during the 1912-2008 period.

The increase is more than twice the global average of 0.74 degrees Celsius. The figure is also 0.2 degrees higher than that of the National Statistical Office, which reported last month that the nation's average temperatures rose 1.5 degrees over the last 100 years. If the warming trend continues, Korea is predicted to turn into a subtropical country before the end of the 21st century.

Of course, this rapid climate change is not surprising, as many officials, scholars and environmental activists at home and abroad have already issued warnings against global warming. The culprit of the change is none other than humans, who emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

A total of 169 countries have joined the Kyoto Protocol to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. They are also scrambling to map out a new international convention to replace the protocol, set to expire in 2012. South Korea is a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, but it was exempted from the obligation to cut greenhouse gas emissions because it obtained a developing country status.

This is not to say that the country can sit back from the international efforts to fight global warming. Korea is the world's 10th largest emitter of CO2. Of course, the government and local businesses are taking voluntary measures to curtail greenhouse gas emissions. But such voluntary steps are not enough to reverse climate change. The nation urgently needs to pay more attention to the imminent manmade disaster arising from reckless and unchecked industrialization.

The Korea Meteorological Administration predicted last year that the average temperature would soar 4 degrees Celsius by 2100 with precipitation rising 17 percent. It is not difficult to imagine dramatic changes in people's lifestyle, as well as in the ecosystem and in industrial activities. Apple cultivation has already been decreasing and some experts predict that farmers will no longer be able to grow apple trees in Korea as early as 2030. On the other hand, such tropical trees as tangerine are on the rise.

Change is also evident in the fishing sector. Pollack is quickly disappearing in seas around the peninsula, while cuttlefish catches have sharply risen as the seawater temperatures continue to go up. Against this backdrop, the nation is required to overhaul its policy against global warming in order to avoid catastrophe before it's too late.