[이슈] “The world has entered an era of carbon neutrality”

Declaration of carbon neutrality in major countries such as EU, China and Japan… ‘Carbon neutral’ global new paradigm
“Carbon neutral, my story, not someone else’s story… Not the future, but the reality in front of you”
Carbon neutrality is not an easy task to achieve for us as our flagship industry is a high-carbon industry.
If you can’t avoid it, make a turning point… It could be a new leap forward opportunity for our economy and companies.

On October 28, last year, President Moon Jae-in declared ‘2050 carbon neutrality’ to make the Republic of Korea a country without net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in a municipal speech at the National Assembly. He joined the international ranks that carbon neutrality must be achieved in order to cope with the climate crisis. This means that we have acknowledged the trend of the times that we can no longer postpone carbon neutrality and avoid avoiding it. <변국영 기자>

Globally, the response to the climate crisis initiated by the Paris Agreement has been gathered under the premise of carbon neutrality. There are 120 countries participating in the international alliance pursuing’zero carbon’ around the world, and more than 70 countries have so far declared carbon neutral, including 65 countries around the world declared carbon neutral at the climate summit in September 2019.

As the seriousness of the climate problem has emerged, major countries such as the EU, China, and Japan have declared carbon neutrality. With the world’s pursuit of carbon neutrality, such as US President-elect Biden also proposing carbon neutrality as a pledge, carbon neutrality has now emerged as a global new paradigm.
This means that the issue of climate change, that is, carbon neutrality, is my story, not someone else’s, and that it has become the story of reality right now, not the future. For us, it is an urgent task that cannot be postponed any longer and needs to be actively resolved.

In particular, the economic order is changing as each country strengthens global regulations to respond to climate change. The EU and the US are discussing the introduction of a carbon border tax. In particular, the EU is pushing for an increase in automobile emission regulations and a new plastic tax. There is also a widespread movement by global companies and financial companies to limit supply targets and financial investment targets to eco-friendly companies.

The international community is moving fast. The Secretary-General of the United Nations stressed that all countries should pledge ‘2050 carbon neutrality’ to curb the global temperature rise to 1.5℃. Globally, the movement of defossil fuels to respond to climate change, such as expansion of renewable energy, reduction of coal power plants, and the supply of eco-friendly cars, and investment in green technology are also rapidly increasing.

Since 2015, when the Paris Agreement was signed, 65.7% (178GW) of global energy facility investment has been invested in renewable energy, and a move to reject coal-fired power plants is spreading. The market demand for new coal-fired power plants in the world is rapidly declining since the peak in 2015, and countries such as the EU and Canada that have already declared de-coaling as their policy target are increasing.

The green movement of financial investment is also growing. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has established and is operating guidelines for public financial export support for overseas coal-fired power plants. The G20 Financial Stability Committee formed a task force on the disclosure of climate-related financial information, and recommended that all companies, including financial institutions, transparently disclose information on financial risks related to climate change based on the scenario for achieving the 2℃ goal of the Paris Agreement. Are doing.

The United States, which left the Paris Agreement, is predicting a completely different policy change as Democratic Candidate Joe Biden was elected president. When he was nominated, Biden announced his presidential election pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and invest $2 trillion in clean energy. It is clear that it will shift to a policy stance that prioritizes responding to the climate crisis compared to the Trump administration, which has focused on energy independence. The possibility of leading international climate change discussions has increased, such as rejoining the Paris Convention and agreeing on reductions with major countries.

On December 11, 2019, the EU announced the European Green Deal as a policy initiative to achieve’carbon neutrality in 2050′. In January of last year, the’European Green Deal Investment Plan’ and’Process Conversion Mechanism’ were introduced as investment plans to promote the green deal.

These changes in the international community have made carbon neutrality more urgent for us. But carbon neutrality is by no means an easy task to achieve for us. The share of our manufacturing industry is 28.4%, higher than the EU at 16.4% and the US at 11.0%. Major industries such as steel and petrochemical, which have led economic growth so far, are the carbon-rich industries. In terms of energy sources, Korea’s share of coal power generation is 40.4%, which is higher than that of major countries such as the US 24%, Japan 32%, and Germany 30%. In addition, the period from the peak of greenhouse gases to carbon neutrality will be relatively short as the period from the peak of greenhouse gases to carbon neutrality will be relatively short due to industrialization as a latecomer than major advanced countries, and the weakening of industrial competitiveness and job reduction will be burdensome in the process of implementation.

But if something is unavoidable, it should be made a turning point for new developments. Carbon neutrality can act as an opportunity for our economy and businesses. Electric vehicle batteries are the No. 1 market share in the world, and we are responsible for 40% of the world’s hydrogen fuel cell generation. The energy storage system (ESS) is also the No. 1 market share in the world. In the era of carbon neutrality, we have excellent capabilities of our own.

The eco-friendly market is booming worldwide now, and it will expand further in the future. Governments and companies are engaged in fierce competition to secure their own competitiveness and preoccupy new markets. If we do not respond proactively and proactively, we will inevitably fall behind in new markets, but if we respond proactively, it will be an opportunity for a new leap forward. The era of great transformation of’carbon neutrality’. An era in which carbon neutrality became’essential, not optional’. The future of Korea depends on’carbon neutrality’.

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