Korea Takes on Green Challenge

By Lee Youn-ho

Minister of Knowledge Economy

Korea's industrial and economic paradigms are shifting. A medium-sized enterprise, which previously produced metal goods using traditional methods, increased its sales from 276 billion won to 615 billion won in just two years by transforming itself into a supplier of wind power turbine components. The company was mentioned in Fortune magazine as a notable investment.

A Korean power plant company has dedicated its first tidal power plant in Jindo Uldolmok on the southwestern coast. This 1000-kilowatt plant, the first of its kind in Asia and the second in the world, was built completely with cutting-edge domestic technology. This firm will expand its business abroad and establish a $450-million wind power complex in the Philippines.

As the above cases illustrate, green success stories that once seemed impossible are already happening right now. Businesses are realizing ``green growth" ― that is, achieving economic growth and environmental sustainability at the same time ― by finding profitable ways to generate electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power.

Earlier this year, Thomas Friedman, the author of ``Hot, Flat and Crowded,'' visited Korea. He stressed that the country that owns energy technology is going to have the most energy, economic and national security, global respect, the healthiest environment and intellectual security. International pressure to curb greenhouse gas emissions has been escalating, and the U.N.-led Post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations are now in progress with the participation of about 190 countries.

This green movement has had powerful effects all over the world. Japan, for instance, is promoting 21 innovative technologies to reduce greenhouse emissions as part of its "Low-Carbon Society" vision. These include next-generation vehicle, hydrogen fuel cells and energy conservation technologies.

Due to the rise in oil prices last year, Korea, a country that imports 97 percent of its primary energy resources of which 83 percent originates from fossil fuels, saw a trade deficit for the first time in ten years. Also, Korea's economy, whose structure is based mainly on industries that consume large amounts of energy, is at a stage where there needs to be a transformation to a low-carbon economy.

So, with volatile energy prices and the need for a low-carbon transformation, President Lee Myung-bak announced Korea's new national vision for ``low-carbon, green growth" in 2008. This new paradigm for the 21st century will lead our economy just as surely as did the light and heavy chemical industries in the 1970s and the Information Technology (IT) revolution in the late 1990s.

First of all, Korea will examine ways to make a transition to a low-carbon industrial structure. Korea will fully utilize its strengths in fields such as semiconductors, petrochemicals and steel to develop environment-friendly, highly efficient materials and components to achieve this green transformation. And also, Korea plans to upgrade the current knowledge-based services industry and enhance energy efficiency in the industrial sector by using information technology.

Next, Korea will develop new and renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The government will extend its full support for research and development into strategic technologies including solar energy, hydrogen fuel cells and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).

At the same time, we will encourage private investment by ensuring significant demand from the public sector like replacing LEDs in place of light bulbs in public institutions such as post offices. In addition, Korea will substantially increase the use of renewable energy sources in the nation's energy mix to 11 percent from the current 2.4 percent. We will do this through the development of source technologies, and by requiring power companies to meet a certain quota of energy generated from renewable sources.

Moreover, in response to high oil prices and climate change, Korea will increase its energy efficiency level substantially ― by 47 percent by 2030 compared with 2006 levels. To make this possible, we are exploring the development and dissemination of hybrid electric vehicles; adopting stringent policies concerning fuel efficiency, energy conservation and green buildings; and promoting investment in energy conservation facilities.

In April, the Lee administration formulated the law for low-carbon, green growth. This bill sets forth the development of Korea's green technologies and green industries, as well as its sustainable development initiatives. Later this year, the government will establish a national green growth strategy and voluntarily announce the nation's mid-term greenhouse gas reduction target.

The global financial crisis has taken its toll on the business climate of many countries. For Korea, however, we view the current situation as a golden opportunity to launch the green growth campaign by shifting from a fossil fuel-dependent economy to a low-carbon economy. The strong commitment to green growth of Korea's public and private sectors will pave the way for us to transform into a model of green growth with the potential to share new ideas and technologies with our global neighbors.