Gov’t proposes plan to install EV charging stations at 20 million homes

The South Korean government proposed a strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by distributing 20 million charging stations for electric vehicles at home across the nation by 2050, etc. The fund to support the plan will be financed by creating a new climate response fund. However, some criticize that the plan only suggested broad directions without detailed cost information or policy measures, adding more uncertainty among businesses and being not much more than a declaratory roadmap

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“If carbon neutrality is an unavoidable task, it is desirable to take bold preemptive actions for our future generations,” said Minister of Economy and Finance and Deputy Prime Minister Hong Nam-ki, announcing a strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 at the Government Complex Seoul on Monday. Carbon neutrality means making net carbon emissions zero by absorbing the equal amount of greenhouse gasses emitted.

The government has put forward three major policy directions to make the economic structure less carbon-intensive, create a low carbon industry ecosystem with new potential, and make a transition to a carbon-neutral society.

First, internal combustion engine cars, which emit a large amount of carbon, will be replaced by environment-friendly cars, such as electric or hydrogen cars. It also includes a plan to install electric vehicle charging stations at 20 million homes by 2050 and set up over 2,000 hydrogen charging stations in regional hubs. Environment-friendly innovative technologies will be also introduced to railroads and ships for their switch to carbon-free fuel. New buildings will be subject to the reinforced “zero energy construction” policies to minimize energy use.

The government has also set a goal to lead the global market by nurturing new low-carbon technologies, such as rechargeable batteries and the bio industry. In addition, it has a plan to increase the share of green hydrogen, which is currently in the phase of small-scale demonstration, to over 80 percent of the entire hydrogen energy by 2050. Green hydrogen is obtained from the electrolysis of water without causing pollutants, such as carbon dioxide.


Teuk-Gyo Koo kootg@donga.com