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August 05, 2009
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| Korea will announce its first target for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions this year, and it could be among the most ambitious set by a country whose industry is not yet restricted by the Kyoto Protocol, according to the government. The Presidential Committee on Green Growth yesterday set out three possible scenarios to lower emissions of gases that contribute to global warming including carbon dioxide by up to 30 percent by 2020. The most drastic plan, for a 30 percent cut from “business as usual” - the emissions that would occur in 2020 if current trends continue - would mean Korea’s emissions that year would be 4 percent lower than in 2005. The other blueprints would reduce emissions by 21 or 27 percent, which would lead to an 8 percent rise or keep 2005 levels unchanged, respectively. A 30 percent cut is the maximum level that the European Union is recommending for developing countries. The minimum is 15 percent. Korea, though an advanced economy, is still not required to reduce emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, an international commitment to fight climate change that expires in 2012. At the G8 extended summit last month, President Lee Myung-bak hinted Korea will not remain passive about this now-global obligation. He said Korea will actively engage in the fight against climate change and play a leadership role as an “early mover” by announcing its 2020 midterm target in 2009. Greenhouse gas emissions in Korea rose 99.4 percent between 1990 and 2005, from 298.1 million tons of carbon dioxide to 594.4 million tons, the fastest growth during that period among Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. China and India, two of the biggest producers of CO2, recorded 92.7 percent and 50.5 percent growth in emissions, respectively, over those years according to the committee. Carbon dioxide is the compound seen as most responsible for climate change, and emissions of the other five greenhouse gases regulated by Kyoto are calculated in terms of their equivalent in CO2. “Considering Korea’s emissions in the last 15 years [1990-2005], drastically cutting current trends and preventing further increases over the next 15 years is an ambitious and robust target,” the committee said in a statement. One of the three scenarios will be selected as the final goal later this year, according to the committee. By Moon Gwang-lip [joe@joongang.co.kr] |
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