Doers of words: Path toward climate-resilient Korea

This is the 12th in the "Letters to President Yoon" series The Korea Times has organized to convey policy recommendations in open letters from politicians, scholars and experts to President Yoon Suk-yeol following his May 10 inauguration. ― ED.

By Yoo Yeon-chul

Dear Mr. President,

I wish to convey my most respectful congratulations on your election and inauguration as the new president of the Republic of Korea. I would also like to congratulate you for the successful Korea-U.S. summit held on May 21.

The summit was held only 11 days after you took office on May 10, which is unprecedentedly the earliest ever of its kind. U.S. President Joe Biden made his first trip to Asia after taking the presidency, visiting South Korea first. This means that both leaders have placed their highest value on each other. Indeed, the summit has offered very good opportunities for both presidents to form closer ties and to set up a new framework for bilateral relations and more.

It is highly appreciated that both leaders discussed a wide range of issues such as political, economic, security and global agendas with particular emphasis on the challenges posed by North Korea's nuclear threats, global supply chains, the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. This resulted in releasing the Korea-U.S. joint statement after their summit talks.

The summit can be characterized as strengthening national security and economic competitiveness through public-private partnerships and global cooperation. In this letter, I will particularly focus on the significance of the summit and the related recommendations from the perspective of climate change.

When I watched the ROK-U.S. summit joint press conference on TV, I was so encouraged by the fact that the joint statement included the greatest number of words related to climate and energy issues among bilateral joint statements released so far. Now is the time for both countries to be "the doers of words" for a sustainable future as a climate-resilient country.

From the viewpoint of climate change, this summit has three significant aspects.

First, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitments to their already announced nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement, including the 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets and 2050 net zero emission goals, acknowledging the existential threat posed by climate change. Continuous and consistent targets and goals are extremely important in terms of implementation.

Secondly, Korea and the U.S. committed themselves to greater nuclear energy collaboration. Unlike the previous government, the new Korean administration has restarted and revived the use of nuclear energy. Likewise, the U.S. has awakened from a long slumber when it comes to using nuclear power. It is pleasing to see that both countries have committed to accelerating the development and global deployment of advanced and small modular reactors by jointly using export promotion and building a more resilient nuclear supply chain.

It is worthwhile to note that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a scientific U.N. body for climate change, classified nuclear power as a clean energy in its current report.

Thirdly, both leaders reached a consensus on the importance of cooperation in the critical and clean technologies and clean energy field. This includes hydrogen, clean shipping, and the accelerated deployment of zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) in addition to addressing methane emissions globally. It is acknowledged that true energy security means rapidly deploying clean energy technology and working to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels.

Indeed, cutting-edge climate and clean technologies are the driving forces behind the development of a sustainable future.

Bearing this in mind, I'd like to make the following recommendations.

First, climate change should be one of the top priorities on our national agenda and primary objectives. This is because climate change has been a top global agenda and is one of the most urgent issues that all humankind has to solve at this time.

Second, it is critical to roll out a "rational" energy mix plan composed of nuclear power, new and renewable energy, and natural gas with coal drastically being phased out. The new energy master plan can contribute to a smoother energy transition from the old energy resources to the new.

Third, in order to minimize social conflict, the new government should lay out a "just and fair transition roadmap" for those who are at risk of losing their jobs in the process of the energy transition. It is, however, unfortunate that there has been lack of guidance to provide re-education programs to help them seek new jobs.

Fourth, an integrated climate and energy policy should be worked out. The new policy should take a holistic approach that aligns climate policies and energy plans which are set up separately with independent timelines that do not align with each other. Moreover, there should also be a robust control tower under the president to further tighten coordination and align financial flows to this end.

Fifth, the carbon market mechanism should be normalized and expanded. Bold steps should be taken to minimize market intervention from the government in the current Emissions Trading System (ETS) to make the market function. Furthermore, as the current ETS system excludes the transportation and building sectors, the revised ETS should expand its scope for a more proactive reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

All the perfect goals and plans will be futile if we do not take action. That is why we need to become "doers of words." By doing so, Mr. President, I'm sure that under your leadership, climate-resilient Korea will chart a path toward a sustainable future to meet any challenge and seize all the opportunities presented before us.

Sincerely,
Yoo Yeon-chul

The writer (ycyoo87@gmail.com), former ambassador for climate change at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is serving as secretary general of the U.N. Global Compact Network Korea. He also served as Korean ambassador to Kuwait.