Seoul ups greenhouse gas emission target from 26.3% to 40% by 2030

The South Korean government is pushing for a plan to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emission by 40 percent (from the 2018 level) by 2030. In 2015, the government originally targeted to cut the emission by 26.3 percent by 2030. South Korea thus has to further increase the amount of greenhouse gas reduction accordingly. The business community is raising concern by calling the increased target “unrealistic.” Environmental group criticize the new target, saying, “It is a goal that is hardly adequate to be able to cope with the climate change crisis.”

The presidential 2050 Carbon Neutrality Committee announced on Friday its new nationally determined contributions (NDC) target, which calls for reduction of greenhouse gas from 727.6 million tons in 2018 to 436.6 million tons in 2030. For Korea to achieve the target, it must reduce greenhouse emission by 4.17 percent yearly through 2030. The target is higher than the annual reduction goal (2.81 percent) set by the U.S. and the U.K. Even the Carbon Neutrality Committee said, “The 40-percent reduction goal is very challenging, and it reflects the government’s robust policy commitment.” Last month, President Moon Jae-in said, “We have to set a maximum reduction target that we can seek to achieve in our situation.”

The committee will review and adopt the NDC bill on Oct. 18, before it will be approved by the Cabinet in late October. The government will announce South Korea’s NDC target at the COP26 meeting, which will take place in Glasgow, the U.K. in November, and submit it to the United Nations in December. Countries are obliged to submit a national NDC target but are not bound by it.


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