Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Green renovation project draws positive responses from schools, public offices
Infrastructure ministry officials tour a green renovation promotion booth at Gangdong District Office in Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) library was able to increase its energy efficiency by 53.4 percent as of 2023 compared to 2018, a remarkable improvement led by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry's green renovation project.
The university is among 80 participants in a consortium set up to advance the project led by the ministry to bolster energy efficiency and modernize old commercial buildings and residential dwellings.
The ministry said in February of 2022 that the project will focus on improving energy efficiency, including setting up high-efficiency ventilation systems in buildings managed by state-run entities. Included are childcare centers, community healthcare facilities, medical clinics and other places used largely by children and the elderly.
The consortium is comprised of state-run and private universities and academic institutions as well as research entities. Also among the participants are private firms.
Ministry data showed that the initiative led to about a 5.3 ton reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, the equivalent of planting 650,000 30-year-old pine trees in Gangwon Province. It is also equivalent to the carbon emitted by 2,180 cars a year.
The consortium will lead the green drive, as backed by an analysis of the effects of the policy's contribution to greenhouse gas reduction. They will establish programs to foster businesses to come up with sustainable profit models, as well as nurturing experts. Additionally, they will organize training and education sessions as well as regular meetings whereby concerned citizens can participate and express their opinions in a public setting.
Buildings that underwent the green renovation were able to register an average energy consumption reduction of 27.9 percent per unit area, the ministry said.
The renovation project contributed to revitalizing the economy, including 520 billion won ($393 million) in economic effects induced and the creation of 3,562 jobs.
The ministry said the drive is one of the most effective means to achieving the green gas reduction goal in the infrastructure sector.
A Korea Authority of Land & Infrastructure Safety official gives an interview at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Seoul, Tuesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport
Efforts to meet NDC
The green drive is part of the United Nations (U.N.) Framework Convention on Climate Change, under which each member state should meet the goal, as measured by Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the success of its long-term goals.
The ministry said in 2022 that the 2030 NDC goals ― strengthened for 2050 carbon neutrality ― require that the infrastructure sector must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 32.8 percent compared to goals set in 2018.
The strengthened guidelines are a daunting task for Korea, which saw energy consumption in the infrastructure sector jump 16.8 percent over the past decade. Also notable is that 82.5 percent of the buildings were constructed in the past 10 years or earlier, meaning their energy efficiency is low.
Also prompting the need for swift renovation is the poor air quality in old buildings due to inadequate ventilation, especially in medical facilities including nursing homes and hospitals.
The ministry spent 680 billion won through 2022 to renovate 2,500 buildings that are used largely by vulnerable groups of people such as children and the elderly
This was a follow-up to 660 billion won spent between 2020 and 2021 to renovate 1,716 buildings.
Meanwhile, the most recognized green initiative was the renovation of the state-run healthcare center in Ssangryu-ri, a town in Sejong, in May of 2021.
The ministry said at the time of the center's facelift after two decades of service to the local community, that it was a milestone achievement, the first to be completed among 32 signature projects.
A public ceremony celebrating the completion was held on May 28 to mark how the green remodeling policy drive will help advance technologies and enhance public service.
The center was old and had a low-energy efficiency with an overall level of degradation in the interior of the building.
Due to the green remodeling initiative, however, the old insulation materials, and windows of the building were replaced with new ones with higher energy efficiency.
The new improvements, including solar panels, helped reduce the building's energy consumption by 70 percent compared to before the renovation.
The ministry said the initiative will fund the reconstruction of aging buildings to improve their respective energy efficiency by at least 30 percent and reduce the indoor fine dust levels by 75 percent.