hankyoreh

Erich Pica

President Park Geun-hye was in the United States this month to meet with President Obama, and almost certainly one of the topics on the agenda was climate change. South Korea was once seen as a global leader in making the transition towards a green economy but its continued promotion of coal, and its inadequate targets on renewables, is threatening this leadership.

In the international sphere, Korea has particularly been a laggard in the global movement towards curbing public investment in international coal finance. In 2013, the U.S. Export-Import Bank adopted a policy to limit financing for coal fired power plants abroad. Around the same time, public financial institutions around the world, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and the public financial institutions of France, U.K., the Netherlands and Nordic countries, adopted similar financing restrictions on coal power - policies that will save thousands of lives in the developing world. Just last month, China announced that it would strictly limit public investment in the coal sector, adding to the momentum.

Korea, on the other hand, has deliberately tried to stymie progress in this area. It has actively tried to prevent the OECD from negotiating a multilateral commitment to restrict coal lending from their export credit agencies. Perhaps it is no wonder: the Korea is the world’s #2 OECD country when it comes to global coal finance, and to make things worse, some 40 percent of Korea Ex-Im coal lending in low income countries is for subcritical coal plants - the least efficient kind.

Korea’s international promotion of coal is mirrored in its domestic electricity sector, which accounts for about 40% of South Korea’s carbon pollution. Earlier this year, when the government released its 7th Basic Plan on Electricity Demand and Supply, much fanfare was made of the fact that the plan canceled four new proposed coal plants. But what was not discussed was that the plan actually involves an increase in coal-fired generation overall. If the plan is followed, by 2029, South Korea’s coal-fired power capacity will have increased from 27,273 MW to 47,417 MW. This is inconsistent with what is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius.

These new coal plants will kill thousands of people. Currently the fine particulates generated by coal plants in the country kill as many as 1,600 people per year according to a study by Harvard University and Greenpeace East Asia. The same study found that premature deaths could reach up to 32,000 people if all coal plants, including those planned for construction, are used for their full lifespan, Greenpeace East Asia noted.

Even if one ignores all of numerous health and environmental impacts of coal, the rapid drop in the price of renewables means that coal is increasingly an expensive option. The price of solar has also dropped, making it competitive with other forms of electricity generation in many markets. In August this year, 30% of the electricity consumed in California - the world’s 8th largest economy - came from solar panels.

In 2013, renewables added 143 gigawatts of new capacity globally, compared with 141 gigawatts in new plants that burn fossil fuels, according to an analysis by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). According to BNEF‘s founder Tom Randall, “the question is no longer if the world will transition to cleaner energy, but how long it will take.”

Yet while many parts of the world are accelerating the shift towards clean energy, South Korea risks being left in the dark. The Fourth Basic Plan for New & Renewable Energy announced in 2014 has a target of 11% of energy supply coming from renewables by 2035 - an incredibly low target for 20 years into the future. This indicates the current government’s failure to embrace the clean energy economy - and a sign of a government beholden to the coal and nuclear lobby.

Yet it’s not too late to change. President Park has an opportunity to restore South Korea’s image as a global leader in fighting climate change. Reducing its reliance on coal and adopting ambitious targets for increasing the share of renewables in the energy mix, together with the required policies to achieve this, could be President Park’s first step. She could also work with other OECD governments such as the United States, the UK and France to support an agreement to limit financing for coal plants from OECD countries. South Korea would be embracing technological innovation and a clean energy future, rather than being stuck in a 20th century fossil fuel and nuclear mentality.

By Erich Pica, President, Friends of the Earth U.S.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]