Green or red light for Korea's climate action in 2022

By Jang Daul

Every year the World Economic Forum (WEF), also known as the Davos Forum, publishes its "Global Risks Report." The report analyzes the major global risks perceived by experts and leaders in government, business and civil society.

In the 2022 report, "climate action failure" and "extreme weather events" are ranked as the two most serious risks in terms of their severity over the next 10 years. Even though we are still in the middle of the never-ending COVID-19 pandemic, "infectious diseases" rank at only eighth place.

This result is not surprising, as we recall the extreme weather events of recent years as well as the warning of "code red for humanity" in the latest United Nations scientific climate report from August 2021.

Another survey published by Lancet Planetary Health in December 2021 showed that 59 percent of children and young people aged 16 to 25 in 10 countries were very or extremely worried about climate change, while 84 percent were at least moderately worried.

However, our reality is like the hit black comedy movie, "Don't Look Up." Even if scientists, experts, and millions of youth globally have repeatedly said that climate change is an unprecedented threat to our existence on this planet, the actions of many of the world's key governments and corporations are still far from enough.

But we still have hope.

More and more people around the world now realize that it's time to act and at least a few countries are setting good examples of climate leadership that are close to proportional to the level of climate emergency we face. Germany is one of the leading examples.

The new "traffic light coalition," an alliance of the Social Democratic Party (red), the Free Democratic Party (yellow) and the Green Party (green), has pledged to put climate protection at the top of its agenda, making the world's fourth-largest economy climate neutral and reaching the target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees .

In line with Germany's 2045 carbon neutrality goal, the coalition included a number of ambitious climate and energy plans in its 177-page agreement signed in November 2021: an 80-percent share of renewable energy in power generation by 2030 (previously 65 percent), accelerating the phasing out of coal "ideally" by 2030 (previously 2038), using two percent of land for onshore wind power, making rooftop solar mandatory for new commercial buildings, and having a target of a minimum of 15 million electric vehicles ― two-thirds of all car sales ― by 2030.

The ambitious climate and energy plan by the German traffic light coalition reminded me of the moment when I was listening to a presentation by a German minister at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

It was little more than one year after Germany had announced an ambitious energy plan of phasing out nuclear power and expanding renewable energy. The German Minister resolutely stressed that establishing a successful case of energy transition in Germany is critical not only for the German people but also for the entire world, because the whole world is closely watching whether Germany will succeed or fail.

It's already been a decade. During the last decade (2011-2021), Germany has almost doubled the share of renewable energy it uses in power generation from 21 to 41 percent and now aims to double it again over the next decade.

It is a remarkable achievement because Germany, the world's seventh-largest carbon dioxide emitter, reduced roughly one quarter of its emissions between 2010 and 2020, while continuing economic growth, maintaining the world's third-largest exporter status, and reducing the share of nuclear energy used in power generation from 20 to 8 percent.

As the world's 10th-largest economy, seventh-biggest exporter, and ninth-highest carbon emitter, South Korea needs to learn from Germany more than any other country about how to achieve an energy transition to tackle the global climate emergency while strengthening industrial competitiveness toward sustainable economic growth.

In South Korea, the share of renewable energy in power generation increased from 1.4 to 6.4 percent between 2011 and 2021, while the share of nuclear power was reduced from 35 to 30 percent. However, the carbon dioxide emission level of South Korea stayed almost the same between 2010 and 2020, with the country receiving more and more criticism for its insufficient climate action.

In January 2022, NEXT Group, an energy and environment policy think tank in Korea, estimated that sales generated by five major corporations ― POSCO, Samsung Electronics, S-Oil, LG Chem and Hyundai Motor Company ― will drop by 30 trillion won and that their business profit rate will shrink by 24 percent unless they deal appropriately with climate risks.

In other words, the global climate emergency is not just an environmental problem; it is a serious national security issue. Also, it is a top risk in terms of severity not only for the global economy but also obviously for the Korean economy.

The next presidential election is coming soon. How Korea will tackle the climate crisis from various perspectives ― national security, public health, safety, social equity, sustainable economic growth, industrial competitiveness and jobs ― needs to be part of the presidential election debates.

Regardless of who and which political party wins in the presidential election, how to decarbonize our socioeconomic system should be a top priority for the new government.

The first task of the next administration in 2022 is to establish a basic plan under the new Framework Act on Low Carbon Green Growth. Since the national reduction target of greenhouse gas emissions was strengthened in 2021, relevant government policies and plans need to be revised, including the Phase 3 (2021-2025) Allocation Plan of the Korea Emission Trading Scheme.

It may be not easy to see a Korean version of an actual coalition like Germany's, but at least people here expect to see practical cooperation among the different parties in tackling the climate emergency in 2022 in order for there to be a green light towards a sustainable future.

Jang Daul (daul.jang@greenpeace.org) is a government relations and advocacy specialist at Greenpeace East Asia's Seoul office.