Koreans have long compared their country to a ``brocade embroidered with beautiful rivers and mountains through four distinct seasons.'' Toward the end of this century, however, they may have to change it to a ``subtropical paradise of everlasting summer'' if a recent government report on climate change proves correct.
Lovers of warm weather, tropical fish and fruit may find little wrong with ``winterless Korea,'' but what this climatic upheaval means on a global scale ― drought, famine and rising seas ― will not be that simple.
Already, southern coastal areas of the Korean Peninsula are undergoing a ``subtropicalization'' process in terms of average annual temperatures and regional fauna and flora. The report by the Climate Change Information Center said this will move up to central parts of the peninsula by 2070, which is within the life expectancy of most teenagers now. Seoul could become quite a bit like the southernmost resort city of Jeju.
Winterless Korea will be bugged by a variety of harmful insects and new epidemics as well as exposed to super-typhoons ― with speeds of 51 meters per second or more and radiuses of 1,000 kilometers ― like Hurricane Katrina that smashed the U.S. southeast in 2005.
It is never easy of course for people to change current ways of life and sacrifice the benefits and advantages they have taken for granted for so long to prevent future disasters not fully ascertained. But most scientists agree the only way to stave off the calamity for our children's and grandchildren's generation is to start making such sacrifices, not in a decade or two but right here and now. Idling for even two or three years will make a considerable difference, experts say in unison.
The government also seems to know the seriousness of the matter ― only in words not in actions. It's been some time since the Lee Myung-bak administration called for moving toward low-carbon, green growth, and they created a comprehensive policy package. The proposed introduction of a carbon tax and a cap and trade on emissions, however, was immediately shelved in the face of strong corporate opposition.
If the government had not anticipated businesses' counter lobbying, it was na?ve to the extent of foolishness. Had it expected industries' resistance and succumbed to it, that means the proposal itself was little more than a gesture.
Sometimes, the slogan for environment-friendly growth appears like a comedy, coming from the same administration that is trying to revive the economy by artificially deforming rivers and mountains, and building concrete houses on areas designated as essential green lots for decades. It's a small surprise then that Korea was ranked 11th out of 15 major economies in the ``green competitiveness index'' surveyed by a private think tank.
Japan's Prime Minister-to-be Yukio Hatoyama recently vowed to cut his country's emission of greenhouse gas by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, a far deeper cut than his predecessor. That comes in stark contrast to the Lee administration, which is still anxious on how to avoid or delay mandatory emission targets.