hankyoreh

Members of Global Climate Strike in Korea hold a press conference in Gwanghwamun Square on July 15 criticizing the government’s Green New Deal plan. (Yonhap News)

The comprehensive plan for the Moon Jae-in administration’s “Green New Deal” released on July 14 has been confirmed as a step back from the Democratic Party’s original draft. While the government has spoken of bringing about a “massive economic and social transition,” the plan does not go beyond short-term support for individual projects, leading to criticism that the government “lacks awareness about the climate change crisis” and views the Green New Deal as nothing more than an economic policy.

After examining the original “Korean Green New Deal Comprehensive Plan” written by the Green New Deal Department of the Democratic Party’s Future Transition and K-New Deal Committee in June, Hankyoreh discovered that it contained more progressive policies than the final version. To begin with, the original plan put forward a long-term vision for the future, stating that [Korea] needs to aim for “net zero” emissions by 2050, where greenhouse gas emissions are completely offset by carbon removal. The draft stated that Korea must boost renewable energy generation by 7 gigawatts (GW) per year, increasing solar power and wind power by 5GW and 2GW, respectively.

However, these targets were lowered in the final plan to an average annual increase of 4.5GW from 2020 to 2022 and 5.5GW from 2023 to 2025. The draft proposal sought to invest 45 trillion won (US$37.3 billion) in government funds across 32 projects by 2022, but this was changed to 42.7 trillion won (US$35.4 billion) by 2025 in the final plan. For example, the Democratic Party believed that government investment of 6.7 trillion won (US$5.6 billion) would be required by 2022 for green remodeling and zero-energy construction in the public and private sector, but only 1.8 trillion won (US$1.5 billion) in government funds has been allocated under the final plan.

The original plan also stipulated the conditions for a “just transition,” stressing that laborers and regional communities must be protected during the process of phasing out polluting industries such as coal power generation and internal combustion engines. While the final plan does mention a “fair transition,” these details were replaced with a vague provision about seeking solutions through research. Furthermore, although the final version contains plans for ecological restoration, including a 4.5 square-kilometer area of mudflats, the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements pointed out “This covers only 0.2% of [Korea’s] mudflats, and is a disappointing plan in light of the fact that many mudflats are still being reclaimed.”

It appears that concessions were made during the negotiation process between the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MOEF) and the Blue House. Analysts believe the government does not fully understand the severity of the climate change crisis, and has restricted the Green New Deal project to an economic policy. The government has defended the failure to state a specific time-frame for greenhouse gas reductions and postpone the decision, stating it was “in the process of building a public consensus.”

As for the reason behind not extending the plan beyond 2025, an official in charge of climate and environmental policy at MOEF stated, “It is unrealistic to make long-term fiscal plans.” However, in 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made it clear that the world must endeavor to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by the end of the century, and concluded that it was necessary to reach net zero by 2050 in order to achieve this goal.

Even within the Democratic Party there are mixed reactions to the final plan. Some have adopted a self-congratulatory attitude, believing that it is meaningful to take the first step, while others are more critical, saying, “We wanted to paint a tiger, but in the end we’ve just drawn a cat.” The Democratic Party plans to put forward a bill for the Climate Crisis Response Act, which includes specific greenhouse gas reduction targets to supplement the government’s policy. In a statement issued the same day, the Energy Transition Network was critical of the policy, noting that it “prioritized industrial growth over responding to climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.”

Global Climate Strike in Korea also held a press conference in which the group said, “We need a strategy to shift towards a new socio-economic model and move away from the system that caused the climate crisis, namely the system that has recklessly burned fossil fuels in pursuit of economic growth above all else,” adding, “The government’s proposal fails to mention any plan to scale down polluting industries such as coal power generation and the manufacture of internal combustion engine vehicles. It is nothing but a list of plans for environmentally friendly projects.”

The Green Party Korea, Our Future, Justice Party and Korea Federation for Environmental Movements also announced they would work together to establish policies, stating “The Green New Deal project must be implemented in line with the principles of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and resolving inequality.”

By Choi Woo-ri, staff reporter

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