South Korea is jeopardizing its ability to meet its 2030 methane reduction target under the Global Methane Pledge due to the country’s plans to massively expand fossil-based hydrogen, according to a recent study by Seoul-based Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) led by legal, economic, financial, and environmental experts with experience in energy and climate policy. Jinny Kim explains.
All posts tagged: South Korea
Was 2021 a turning point for the South Korean Energy Transition?
South Korea’s carbon neutrality policy is advancing. In COP26, President Moon revealed South Korea’s goal for the 2030 nationally determined contribution (NDC). He pledged that South Korea will cut carbon emissions more than 40% of 2018 levels by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Yi hyun Kang explains South Korea’s climate rethink.
Why are farmers against solar panels in Korea?
Korea’s recent rise in solar power capacity has earned the country plaudits. But many, including environmentalists, are criticising Moon Jae-in’s solar policy, arguing that it does not go far enough. Yi hyun Kang explains why.
Korea’s hydrogen ambitions – pioneering or heading down the wrong path?
Hydrogen has emerged as a key element in the race to net-zero worldwide. South Korea is one of the most proactive advocates of hydrogen, passing the world’s first hydrogen economy law last year. In its carbon neutrality scenarios unveiled last month, meanwhile, hydrogen is given more weight than renewables. What is the Korean government doing to boost the hydrogen economy, and why? Yi hyun Kang investigates.
‘K-battery’ competition and Korea’s mobility transition
The automotive industry has significantly contributed to South Korea’s rapid economic development since the 1970s. The worldwide boom of e-mobility in recent years is changing the industrial structure of Korea. The government is now trying to promote the ‘K-battery’ to boost the Korean economy. Can national support accelerate the transition to a green economy? What does it mean to the world’s fifth largest automotive producer? Yi hyun Kang has the story.
Nuclear Power debate rumbles on in Taiwan and Korea
Ten years have passed since the Fukushima disaster in 2011. In the aftermath, some countries have undergone profound energy-policy shifts to prevent such a disaster in the future. However, Japan’s closest neighbors, Taiwan and South Korea (Korea) are struggling to push through the nuclear phase-out agenda. Instead, support for nuclear is on the rise among the population in both countries. What has happened in those countries in the last decade? Yi hyun Kang & Milan Chen have the story.
Coal assets stranded in Southeast Asia
Coal is now more expensive than renewable energy – and while this is good news for the climate, it’s bad news for developing countries who have invested in coal. Renato Redentor Constantino looks at how Japan and Korea are divesting, and the IMF’s opinion on stranded assets.
Grassroots solar energy in South Korea
Korea’s citizens have been organizing their own energy cooperatives, and the new feed-in tariffs could encourage even more investment. Yi hyun Kang talks to stakeholders about their role in the energy transition.
South Korea’s move towards renewables
The Moon Jae-in administration’s nuclear phase-out policy has begun to take shape. The Korean Energy Information Agency explains how citizen concerns are addressed.
Open the window for fresh air? Not in Korea
South Koreans are more concerned with air pollution than with North Korea’s nuclear weapons – and with good reason. On some days in Seoul, the air is too full of fine particles to go outside. While some blame China, about half of Korean pollution is from diesel cars and coal plants. Yi hyun Kang looks at what can be done.