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Climate change is not only about weather
By Jang Daul
On Sept. 19, the U.N. secretary-general delivered his address to the 78th U.N. General Assembly in New York. The full speech is worth a read if you are concerned about "the most immediate threat to our future: our overheating planet" as the UNSG said.
From the perspective of climate justice, I greatly sympathized with the following parts of the speech. "Thousands of people in Derna, Libya lost their lives in epic, unprecedented flooding. Even now, as we speak, bodies are washing ashore from the same Mediterranean Sea where billionaires sunbathe on their super yachts."
As the chief administrative officer of the U.N. said, climate change is not just a change in the weather. "Global boiling" literally affects every aspect of the lives of people, plants and animals on our only planet.
Fortunately, you and I in South Korea have survived the hottest summer in 2018, the longest monsoon in 2020, the longest wildfire in 2022 and the devastating flood in 2023. However, unfortunately, some of our neighbors have not. It's not because you and I did something special, but we have been just lucky.
Yet, climate actions are falling terribly short. We still do have time to act. We also do have the measures to change our future. To do so, we need to push the government, the National Assembly and industry harder.
A fossil fuel phase-out is our utmost priority. It should be full, fast and fair. In other words, it should include all fossil fuels with no new investment, it should be fast enough to avoid irreversible climate disaster and it should reflect the principles of just transition.
We need to ensure climate justice both globally and locally. Those countries that are hit hardest by the devastating climate impact are often the countries that contributed the least to the disaster. Those more vulnerable to climate impacts in our society also tend to share the least direct responsibility.
We often say climate action is every country's responsibility. Yes, in principle ― but in reality, it is almost the sole responsibility of the major polluters. G20 member countries, including Korea, are responsible for more than 80 percent of global carbon emissions.
The same reality applies within our society as well. Climate action is everyone's common responsibility, but it should be greatly differentiated. In Korea, those 685 corporations subject to the Korean Emission Trading Scheme (K-ETS) are responsible for 74 percent of the total greenhouse gas emissions.
Especially the top 10 private emitters, including POSCO, Samsung Electronics, Ssangyong C&E, S-Oil and LG Chem, are responsible for more than a quarter of the total emissions. Therefore, the responsibilities of the steel, petrochemical, cement and semiconductor industries and their leaders including the CEOs and owners are remarkably greater.
The incumbent Yoon administration proclaimed that Korea would take on a greater role to be a "global pivotal state" in the world. To do so, as a member of the G20, the Korean government needs to strengthen its climate policies by following the immediate steps recommended by the U.N. secretary-general.
Firstly, South Korea, as a member of the OECD, needs to phase out fossil-fuel power generation as fast as possible, including coal, by 2030. However, the current governmental plan is to phase out fossil-fuel power by not 2030 but 2050. What is worse is the government allows additional fossil-fuel power plants to be built. The Yoon administration's actions are clearly in contradiction of its directive of becoming a "global pivotal state" in this time of climate emergency.
Secondly, Korean policymakers need to increase the pricing on carbon. In fact, Yoon promised to strengthen the K-ETS, but the carbon pricing recently hit its lowest level, 7,000 won equivalent to $5 per ton of carbon. The K-ETS is failing to serve its purpose and the Yoon administration is responsible for it. We need to either fix or replace it with a more effective carbon reduction policy.
To demand not climate change but systemic change based on climate justice, more than 450 civil organizations together with tens of thousands of people will organize a massive climate march this Saturday, Sept. 23, near Seoul City Hall.
Along with the other inspiring climate movements around the world in recent years, there were two major climate protests held in Korea in 2019 and 2022. However, the promised carbon reduction is far from being met, and the growing issue of climate injustice is becoming more prominent. Since September is a month of global climate action, please join the 923 Climate Justice March and raise your voices together because we all deserve a sustainable, just and joyful future.
Jang Daul (daul.jang@greenpeace.org) is a government relations and advocacy specialist at Greenpeace East Asia Seoul Office and guest editorial writer at The Korea Times.
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