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Environment ministry seeking to be 'facilitator' for carbon-neutral future
Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae speaks during a media conference at the Government Complex Sejong, Wednesday. Courtesy of Ministry of Environment
By Jun Ji-hye
Minister vows thorough environmental evaluation of new airport in Busan
By Jun Ji-hye
The Ministry of Environment is seeking to play the role of “facilitator” for the country's eco-friendly projects, aimed at cutting emissions of greenhouse gases, in a bid to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said Wednesday.
Han said during a press conference that the nation's vision to go fully carbon neutral by 2050 is a long-term task that needs to be pushed for consistently over the next 30 years based on thorough planning.
It marked her first press conference since she was appointed to lead the ministry on Jan. 22.
“Countries around the world including European Union member nations and the United States as well as our neighboring nations ― China and Japan ― have begun to move on together toward the goal of a carbon-neutral future. For its part, Korea declared its plans last October to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050,” Han said.
“The role of the environment ministry has become very important. We will become a facilitator for the goal by suggesting clear visions and implementing them.”
Han said the ministry will analyze outcomes of existing policies and establish more effective strategies this year, which will include introducing innovative technologies to decrease carbon emissions, and expanding the supply of eco-friendly vehicles such as electric cars and related infrastructure such as charging stations.
The Office for Government Policy Coordination under the wing of the Prime Minister's Office will lead the establishment of a carbon neutrality committee that will deliberate on and approve policies related to the country's carbon-neutral initiative, the minister noted.
The ministry will also work for the National Assembly's approval of the so-called carbon neutrality bill that would make a climate change impact assessment compulsory for state development projects.
In a bid to enhance international cooperation, the government will host the second P4G summit in Seoul on May 30 to 31 under the theme of “Inclusive green recovery towards carbon neutrality.”
P4G stands for Partnering for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030, a public-private initiative to tackle climate change and other sustainable development challenges.
Minister Han vowed that the ministry will carry out a thorough environmental impact assessment for a new airport to be built on Busan's Gadeok Island, as controversy has risen over the Assembly's Feb. 26 passage of the politically contentious bill on the construction of the airport.
“There is no need to worry as we will abide by principles and rules when carrying out the evaluation,” she said.
Controversy arose as the bill proposed a special exemption for the compulsory preliminary economic feasibility study for the construction project that would require trillions of won.
Han was one of the lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea who submitted the bill before becoming the minister, and this has raised concerns over the possible bungling of the environmental impact study.
Critics said the political parties pushed ahead with the large-scale national project without a sufficient review to woo voters ahead of the April 7 mayoral by-elections that include one in the port city, as well as the presidential election slated for March 2022.
With regard to fine dust issues, which usually become more serious in spring, Han said the ministry will go all out to manage fine dust levels in March and continue to enhance bilateral cooperation with the Chinese government.
“There would be nobody that thinks fine dust particles coming from China have had no direct effect on Korea's fine dust problems, and so does the government. But both governments have made efforts to tackle the issue, and China has almost halved the density of fine dust particles there since 2014. We should highly appreciate that,” Han said. “We will continue to keenly cooperate and engage in dialogue with China.”