By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter
A Korean private think tank predicted that Asia’s fourth-largest economy would fall victim to “green protectionism” if the country is not prepared for the carbon emission initiative.
Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI), the research arm of the country’s biggest conglomerate, Samsung Group, made the prediction Friday.
“The European Union (EU) and Japan are thinking of introducing border tax systems against those who do not join the anti-greenhouse gas initiative,” SERI researcher Kang Hee-chan said.
“If Korea is classified among the countries that have to burden such a border tax, the country will see its exports go down by 3.9 percent a year, or around $4.3 billion,” he said. Kang expected that the United States will join the EU and Japan in 2013 in a new global contract aimed at controlling greenhouse gases after the current Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
If Korea fails to proactively participate in the post-Kyoto Protocol scheme in 2013, Kang said the nation would be subject to higher border taxes. “On average, the 27 EU countries have reduced their carbon dioxide emissions from 162.4 million tons in 1995 to 157.3 million tons in 2005,” Kang said.
“Over the same period, Korea saw its emissions increase from 257.7 million tons to 523.8 million tons. We should do something to reverse this upward trend,” he said.
In addition to the border tax, Kang predicted that carbon emission-intensive industries will be penalized in a variety of ways by advanced countries.
Kang gave the example of the carbon footprint system, which is currently under pilot testing in many countries including Japan.
The system is based on the idea that all manufacturers would have to clarify the amount of carbon dioxide emissions required to make and discard a product. Consumers who snap up products with low carbon dioxide requirements would get cash refunds from the government.
“Let’s say that Samsung Electronics and Nokia make cell phones, the quality and prices of which are the same, by and large. Consumers will then pick either the Samsung or the Nokia indifferently, just in accordance with their tastes,” Kang said.
“But what if the production of the Nokia gadget emitted less carbon dioxide compared to that of the Samsung? Consumers would get a cash refund from the government if they were to pick up the Nokia. In this case, which product would you purchase?” he said.Seoul-based Samsung Electronics is the world’s No. 2 maker of cell phones, behind only Nokia.
“Our flagship firms, such as Samsung and Hyundai Motor, have declared that they will reduce greenhouse emissions in the production of their products,” Kang said.
“But just 6 percent of our companies have adopted similar plans. We need to jack up this ratio in order to prepare for international efforts in global green campaigns,” he said.