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Korea falls far behind in decarbonization: climate advocacy
Activists from the Seoul-based climate advocacy Solutions for Our Climate hold a protest decrying Korea's coal-heavy energy policies near where the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Katowice, Poland, Dec. 13, 2018. Korea Times file
By Lee Kyung-min
By Lee Kyung-min
Korea's overall climate action remains highly insufficient, as indicated by its heavy reliance on fossil fuels for energy generation, government financing for coal projects and a shortfall in its carbon emissions target, global climate advocacy said Monday.
Korea should promptly phase out coal power by 2030, halt construction of new coal plants, streamline operation approval for generators of renewables and improve grid access, according to Climate Transparency, a global partnership of 16 think tanks and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The entity comprises experts from the majority of G20 member nations with a mission of advocating for stronger climate action by the G20 countries.
Climate Transparency Report 2021, a comprehensive review of member nations' climate performances and opportunities, showed Korea lags behind in decarbonization efforts relative to its G20 peers.
Korea had, the report showed, among the highest recovery spending relative to gross domestic product (GDP) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, but less than 30 percent of it was for green recovery. A considerable amount of spending supported fossil fuels, such as Doosan Heavy, the country's flagship coal plant manufacturer.
Korea was the third-largest provider of public finance for fossil fuels, after Japan and China. Korea's annual financing for coal averaged slightly less than $8 billion (9.4 trillion won), whereas the figure for Japan was $10.3 billion.
Korea's per capita greenhouse gas emissions were almost double the G20 average. The figure for Korea grew with an average of 3 percent from 2013 to 2018, whereas the G20 average fell 0.7 percent in the same period.
Energy use per capita in Korea was nearly 2.5 times the G20 average. The country's transport emissions per capita are twice the G20 average.
Korea's building-related emissions per capita were more than double the G20 average. Korea's relatively high emissions are due to a high dependence on energy from fossil fuels and natural gas for heating, compounded by a lack of building energy efficiency standards.
Korea's energy-related CO2 emissions are projected to increase 4.7 percent in 2021 from a year earlier, greater than the G20 average of 4.1 percent.
With new coal power plants still under construction, Korea is expected to remain reliant on coal as a major energy source, the report noted.
“The Korean government plans to replace most of the retired coal plant capacity with liquefied natural gas (LNG), leading to a further growth of the country's gas consumption which has already increased 17 percent from 2015 to 2020, whereas that of the G20 has increased 12 percent,” it said.
“Korea has failed to make meaningful improvements in climate action, despite its pursuit of carbon neutrality since last year's study,” said Han Ga-hee, a researcher at Seoul-based climate advocacy Solutions for Our Climate, a partner of the Climate Transparency network, and one of the lead authors of the report. “The country remains a laggard relative to G20 countries.”
In May, Korea announced its bid to host the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28), and is expected to announce an official enhancement of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) at COP26, this year's conference to be held in Glasgow from Oct. 31 (local time) to Nov. 12.
“Korea can strengthen its case for hosting COP28 through increasing its climate performance and keeping up with its OECD peers,” the official said.