Government should explain its carbon neutrality plan

• Published date: 26 February 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

In a republic like South Korea, the public has the right to know what the government is doing on its behalf. In other words, the administration is obliged to explain its plans and policies and answer questions from the public and civil society.

March 25 is the deadline for the Korean government to establish the first National Carbon Neutrality Master Plan under the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality. However, while there is only a month left, the draft of such an extensive plan has not been disclosed or publicly consulted at all. It seems it is being established through closed-door discussions.

This is wrong and undemocratic. The plan is extremely critical to determine how Korea, one of the major carbon emitters, will achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 in all sectors to tackle the unprecedented global climate crisis. Considering the scope and timespan, the draft should have been disclosed already and the government should have listened to the opinions of the public, civil society and major stakeholders.

According to the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth (CNC), the commission held a meeting recently with only major industrial organizations. For the Yoon administration, public opinion seems to mean only the opinions of the industry.

There are many things that the government must answer and explain in the first master plan, but I would like to emphasize two things here.

Firstly, there should be an answer in the plan as to whether Korea will take its part in achieving the global 1.5-degree Celsius climate target in proportion to its roles and responsibilities to "prevent the serious impact of the climate crisis" as required by the Framework Act.

To prevent a climate disaster, the world needs to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. A 2-degree increase will be too dangerous. It will cause the marine ecosystem to collapse, with 99 percent of the world's coral reefs extinct.

In addition, cumulative emissions targets by 2030 and 2050 together with a plan to manage them should be included in the plan. It is not annual but cumulative emissions that eventually decide how much temperatures will rise. The Framework Act also requires "sector-specific and annual measures to achieve mid- to long-term reduction goals" to be included in the master plan.

Secondly, the 2050 electricity mix should be presented in the plan. The government recently announced a plan for the 2030 and...