Kim Sang-hyeop, chairman of the 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee, spoke at a joint briefing with related ministries such as the Office for Government Policy Coordination, Ministry of Strategy and Finance, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and Ministry of Science and ICT related to the National Carbon Neutral Green Growth Basic Plan held at the Government Complex Sejong, Sejong City on the morning of the 21st. are doing Provided by Yonhap News
The government has presented sectoral and annual greenhouse gas reduction targets (NDC) and implementation plans to transform the country into a carbon-neutral country by 2050. Compared to the plan announced by the Moon Jae-in administration in 2021, the target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 was reduced by 3.1%p. The target for the proportion of nuclear power generation was raised by 5%p.
The government announced on the 21st the ‘1st National Carbon Neutrality Green Growth Basic Plan Government Plan’. This master plan, which contains strategies for the next 20 years from 2023 to 2042, is the first top-level legal plan established in relation to carbon neutrality and green growth.
The government explained, “In order to faithfully comply with the greenhouse gas reduction target promised to the international community, the key is to come up with reasonable implementation plans, such as reduction targets and means by sector and year, in comprehensive consideration of economic and social conditions and feasibility.”
As for the greenhouse gas reduction target, some of the sectoral targets have been adjusted to achieve a 40% reduction compared to 2018, the national greenhouse gas reduction target by 2030.
In the case of the industrial sector, the government previously announced that it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5% from 2018 by 2030 in the ‘2030 National Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target’ set in October 2021. In this announcement, the scale of emission reduction for the same period was reduced by 3.1 percentage points to 11.4%. The energy sector increased its emission reduction scale by 1.5 percentage points from 44.4% to 45.9%. Sectors such as buildings, transport, agriculture, livestock and fisheries, and waste remained unchanged in the 2021 plan.
The absorption target for carbon dioxide capture, storage, and utilization (CCUS), which is a method of absorbing and removing carbon related to the target amount of absorption and removal, has been raised from -10.3t to -11.2t. The government explained that it reflected the expansion of domestic carbon storage.
Some of the mid- to long-term greenhouse gas reduction policies were also changed. In the energy conversion sector, the proportion of nuclear power generation was increased by 5 percentage points from 27.4%, the target set in the 2021 plan, to 32.4%. The share of new and renewable energy generation was also raised to more than 21.6%, an increase of 14.1%p from the 2021 plan of 7.5%.
The government will pay 89.9% for the next five years to related policy tasks so that the basic plan can be effectively implemented.
Allocated trillions of dollars in budget. 54.6 trillion won will be invested over 5 years in greenhouse gas reduction projects, such as development of core technology for carbon-neutral industries, zero energy/green remodeling, and subsidies for electric/hydrogen vehicles. 19.4 trillion won for climate adaptation and 6.5 trillion won for green industry growth will be invested over the next five years.
The government will listen to the opinions of experts and civic groups on the basic plan announced this time through a public hearing on the 22nd. Even following the public hearing, we plan to hold a youth debate on the 24th and a civic group debate on the 27th. The basic plan will be supplemented by reflecting the results of opinion collection, and the final plan will be finalized and announced next month following deliberation by the 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee and the State Council.
