Pared-down carbon neutrality commission starts work

Economy

Published: 26 Oct. 2022, 18:01

Pared-down carbon neutrality commission starts work

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo speaks during the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth meeting held Wednesday at the Korea Institute of Science and Technology in Seongbuk District, central Seoul. [NEWS1]

The Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s carbon neutrality commission officially started work about six months after the president took office, and promised “a balance between nuclear energy and renewable energy.”

The Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth held its first meeting Wednesday in Seongbuk District, central Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

The carbon neutrality commission, established by the previous Moon Jae-in administration, is a private-public organization that serves as a control center for Korea's sustainability policy.

The commission announced a carbon neutrality strategy framework that includes: utilizing both nuclear power and renewable energy for carbon reduction; fostering related sectors such as nuclear power, eco-friendly vehicles, hydrogen, and carbon utilization; and encouraging green financing in the private sector with green taxonomy, a list of eco-friendly economic activities.

The main focus was on technological development.

The commission emphasized that technology should play a key role in Korea’s carbon neutrality plan, as the country is highly dependent on the manufacturing sector and geographically ill suited to renewable energy plants.

The commission named 100 core technologies — including small modular reactors, high-performance solar panels, and offshore wind plants — for achieving carbon neutrality, which will be subject to government support. The list will be finalized this year, after going through a review by the presidential advisory council on science and technology.

Headed jointly by the prime minister and Kim Sang-hyup, former presidential secretary for green growth during the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Yoon administration’s carbon neutrality commission is significantly slimmed down compared to its predecessor.

The number of experts from the private sector was downsized from 76 to 32. There are four subcommittees under the commission, compared to the previous eight.

The government said that the changes are intended to improve the agility and efficiency of the organization.

On Wednesday, President Yoon attended a luncheon with the commission's members in the Yongsan presidential office in central Seoul ahead of its first meeting.

Yoon criticized the former administration’s carbon neutrality plan as “having no scientific ground, and [for being] announced without getting industry’s feedback or setting up a roadmap.”

“Carbon neutrality has become the hottest topic for all of humanity,” said Yoon. “As achieving carbon neutrality should not weigh down our industries, innovation and technological development in the eco-friendly energy sector needs to back it up.”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]