Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed signs a document in Girifushi, the Maldives in this file photo taken on Oct. 17, 2009, highlighting the threat that climate change poses to the lowest-lying nation on Earth ahead of the 2009 U.N. climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. This year’s climate change conference in November will be held in Durban, South Africa. / AP-Yonhap

By Philip Iglauer

They call it “cap and trade” in the United States and the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS), but no matter what you call it, only a hand full of nations have passed climate change legislation designed to limit carbon emissions.

Korea might just be added to that short list. President Lee Myung–bak has scheduled the ambitious legislative goal of passing ETS legislation before the end of the year, committing Korea to limit its emission of carbon gases that cause climate change. The current bill, if passed, will commit Korea to implementation by 2015.

The United Kingdom is closely collaborating with Korea on climate change, sharing its experience of the EU ETS, which began in 2005.

Michael Watters, head of the Climate Change Section at the British Embassy in Seoul, said Britain takes the issue very seriously, and believes it can best help by collaborating with Korean officials so they will avoid the initial mistakes the United Kingdom made in the climate change legislation process.

“Climate change is a job for foreign policy, as important as preventing the spread of nuclear weapons,” Watters said.

The British Embassy’s Climate Change Section is a unique team among the foreign delegations in Korea exclusively dedicated to the issue of climate change, he said.

In the EU, the market price for carbon was initially too volatile and at times dropped to almost zero. This made planning by companies impossible _ bad for business, and made meeting government carbon targets more difficult.

Experts from Europe and Korea will meet at the climate change conference in October to discuss implementation strategies for a possible Korean ETS.

Germany, the U.K. and the EU delegation with their Korean partners at the Global Green Growth Institute will jointly organize the “Joint Conference of Climate Change and Green Growth: Understanding the Threat, Seizing the Opportunities” on Oct. 5 in Seoul.

Interest in collaborating with Europe on climate change is part of an initiative by President Lee Myung-bak to promote a philosophy of “green growth,” which presents a positive image of economic development that is also environmentally friendly. With that mindset Korea would take constructive measures to decrease the country’s contribution to climate change.

Part in parcel in this collaboration includes raising awareness. Britain worked to raise awareness of the importance of climate change in Korea by co-sponsoring the Model United Nations Climate Change Conference at Korea University, a competition among Korea’s top high school and university students in August.

“The student conference was all about energizing future leaders in Korea on the issue of climate change.”

Watters said it is natural for Korea to take the lead on green growth. “Britain would like to see Korea take a leading role on the international stage on the issue of climate change.”

He pointed to Korea’s remarkable rags to riches story, Seoul rising out of the patricidal destruction of the Korean War to become one of the richest countries in the world and a G20 leader.

“Korea is a model of economic growth and development for many countries not just in Asia, but also for countries in Africa and Latin America,” the British diplomat said, in an interview at the British Embassy in Seoul. Korea can now be a “glowing and positive example of green growth if it chooses.”

With the world population ballooning and global resources rapidly depleting, the effects of climate change will only exacerbate already strained sources for energy, fresh water and food, Watters said. “Climate change will exacerbate resource demands which are already strained.

“We need to work towards a global agreement where all the major economies take on internationally binding commitments (on the issue of climate change), including Korea.”

Korea is a signatory of the agreement without specific commitments to reduce its carbon emissions, the major cause of climate change.

The first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012. The next world climate change conference is in Durban, South Africa this year in November. At the moment there are not enough countries ready to forge an agreement on climate change in South Africa.

At the Model U.N. competition, students managed to hammer out a last minute climate change adeal. Whether their adult counterparts in Europe, Korea and around the world can reach an accord in South Africa this November is another matter.