Good morning.
This article was introduced in SDF Diary, a newsletter sent every Wednesday morning.
The SDF diary is written by members of the SBS Press Headquarters Future Team who are preparing for <SBS D Forum>.
We look ahead to the topics that our society should be interested in, and deliver meaningful new perspectives or attempts.
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Today we want to talk about a topic that we think we know well, but is not easy to do. It is
'carbon neutral'
. Have you ever painted in detail what a carbon-neutral society would look like?
Carbon neutrality is the concept of making actual emissions 'zero' by increasing the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed as much as the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by companies or individuals. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) previously
warned in a
special report that
"if the average global temperature rises by 1.5 degrees or more, the abnormal climate will put humanity and all living things at a crossroads for survival
."
Accordingly, the international community has set a goal of reducing net carbon dioxide emissions to '0' by 2050 in accordance with the IPCC's recommendations and is promoting measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In the joint statement of the recent G7 summit, 2050 was viewed as the 'last line', not just the time to achieve the goal. The statement
emphasized
that “the year 2021 should be a turning point for the planet, making the 1.5 degree goal an achievable target
.”
The problem is that there is only 30 years left in Korean society, which has never reduced carbon emissions while on a high-carbon growth trajectory.
Lee Yoo-jin, a researcher at the Green Transition Research Institute, points out, “The greenhouse gas reduction target set by Korea since 2009 has never been achieved, and it has endured by changing the enforcement ordinance and modifying the target every time.” The researcher is also a member of the '2050 Carbon Neutrality Committee' under the direct control of the President, which was launched to prepare a carbon neutral scenario. On the 20th of last month, we had a video conference with researcher Lee Yu-jin to talk about the carbon-neutral task in front of us. |
Q. In Sweden, there is such a consensus that a young girl like Thunberg refuses to go to school and starts the climate crisis movement.
I have a strong impression that this story has always been repeated in Korea.
There seems to be an atmosphere of vague optimism.
It has been more than 30 years since mankind made the Climate Change Convention and started looking for solutions to deal with the climate crisis.
In April, the World Meteorological Organization warned that the global average temperature has risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
As extreme weather disasters become a reality in many parts of the world, there is a growing awareness that non-response to the climate crisis will lead to greater crises and costs.
The European Union is making a system linking greenhouse gas reduction efforts with trade and commerce, and the United States has joined.
Carbon border adjustment [the system of imposing additional tariffs on high-carbon imported goods], Carbon Footprint International [the total amount of carbon dioxide directly or indirectly generated by individuals or organizations, or the entire process from production to distribution, consumption, and disposal] A system that calculates the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted] and the introduction of a carbon tax are representative.
Now, greenhouse gas reduction is spreading beyond environmental issues to trade, economy, industry, and job issues.
However, the Korean government and companies seem to perceive that responding to the climate crisis is still expensive, or that responding to the climate crisis will damage industries and reduce jobs.
Korea also declared carbon neutrality in October last year.
I think the most urgent thing is to 'feel' how great this declaration is.
Beyond understanding dictionary definitions, achieving carbon neutrality requires anticipating and preparing for the changes we will need to make.
What matters is time. To keep the global average temperature from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, we need to cut our greenhouse gas emissions by 45% compared to our 2010 emissions. We need to cut our current greenhouse gas emissions in half within 10 years, which
means we need to cut the amount of fossil energy we use now in half.
It means that fundamental innovation must be made in all areas that use fossil energy, such as energy, industry, buildings, transportation, agriculture, food, and waste.
Above all, we should think calmly about what kind of change will occur in our lives if this is said to be unfolding in the future. In Korea, coal power plants emit the largest amount of greenhouse gases as a single source of emission, and at the same time account for 40% of electricity production.
In the 2050 carbon-neutral roadmap, the International Energy Agency has proposed the closure of all coal power plants in developed countries as 2030, but Korea has not yet decided the closure date. Rather, we are still building new coal power plants in Gangneung, Samcheok, and Samcheonpo.
If all coal power plants are to be closed between 2030 and 2035, electricity demand management, efficiency, and expansion of renewable energy will need to be promoted quickly, but the process will cost money.
The automobile industry is also changing rapidly. The world's major automakers are now declaring to halt production of internal combustion engine vehicles and investing in electric vehicles. The rapid transition to electric vehicles is impacting the internal combustion engine vehicle parts industry and related jobs. If this happens, what will happen to the more than 11,300 gas stations in Korea?
Have you ever told a story like this properly? It is a story of a great transformation that changes the entire foundation of the society we have built up. And it's also a very philosophical question. It's a matter of agreeing on how our community will live in the future. It is a task that requires a complete overturn of the existing production and consumption, industry and energy structures, and power relations.
Q. What is the situation abroad?
The European Union raised its greenhouse gas reduction target from 40% to 55% by 2030 through the 'Green Deal'. We have established the principle that no one will be excluded from the process of transformation. We decided to create the Just Transition Fund to minimize the impact on industry, communities and workers, and to operate a support program for transition.
A climate law passed by the French House of Representatives has included discussions to abolish short-haul air routes that can be reached by train in two and a half hours to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Sweden has plans to close its third-largest airport to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build housing on the site of the airport.
On the other hand, Korea is discussing the construction of a new airport in various parts of the country, such as the construction of a new airport on Gadeokdo Island at Jeju's second airport. It even allows non-landing international tourism. Talking about the seriousness of the climate crisis, the reality is that we are still unable to escape from the civil and construction development policies that emit a lot of greenhouse gases.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is the key to carbon neutrality. Korea's greenhouse gas emissions have more than doubled compared to 30 years ago in 1990 (730 million tons, as of 2019). By 2050, 30 years from now, we need to reduce our emissions to nearly zero.
This is in contrast to the fact that major advanced countries, including Europe, have already invested in reduction in the 1990s and have been working hard for more than 60 years by equipping infrastructure for reduction under the Kyoto Protocol.
With the climate summit hosted by President Biden on April 22, the international community's time to respond to the climate crisis has been pushed back to 2030.
At the Climate Summit, the United States announced a 50-52% reduction compared to 2005, and Japan announced a 46% reduction compared to 2013.
The United Kingdom has committed to reducing emissions by 78% compared to 1990 by 2035 and Germany by 65% by 2030.
Germany has also decided to advance its carbon-neutral target year to 2045.
In Korea, the Presidential Carbon Neutrality Committee was recently launched, and the 2050 Carbon Neutral Scenario and the NDC [Nationally Determined Contribution] have been raised to discuss.
As a result, the 2030 reduction target has not yet been decided.
The tentative target will be announced by early October this year, and will be presented at the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP26) on climate change to be held in Glasgow, UK in November.
There are less than four months left.
Some argue that the introduction of a carbon border adjustment and carbon footprint system by the US and the EU is part of a trade barrier to protect their own industries.
Even so, Korea is in a position where it can no longer assert its status as a developing country as it was when the 1997 Kyoto Protocol was discussed.
Korea ranks 11th in global greenhouse gas emissions and 13th in cumulative emissions.
It is a country that promised to lead the global climate crisis response when the Lee Myung-bak administration announced 'Low Carbon, Green Growth' in 2009.
(Continued on part 2)
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