Manufacturer Key Culprit to Carbon Dioxide Emission
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
More than one third of greenhouse gases emitted here are from manufacturing companies and the country's eco-efficiency is far lower than that of European countries, the Ministry of Environment said Tuesday.
In a report on greenhouse gases emission according to industrial fields, the total carbon dioxide emitted reached 516,727 tons in 2004. Of the total, the manufacturing industry took up 35 percent, or 180,651 tons. Metal and petrochemical related companies made up a large portion of this, ministry spokesman Lee Jung-hoi said.
The efficiency in controlling the emissions of greenhouse gases was also poor. On a scale of eco-efficiency, measuring the unit product one can manufacture by emitting a certain amount of greenhouse gas, Korea marked only 60 percent that of 15 member countries of the European Union.
When the same amount of greenhouse gas is used, Korea produced 1.03 product units in 2004, far lower than 3.14 in Germany, 2.2 in France and 1.72 in the United Kingdom.