South Korea announces joining the "Coal Exit Group" and will completely stop coal power generation by 2040.

Korean media: [Editorial] Climate summit is watered down, but South Korea's radical future is worrying

The 30th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was held in Brazil. The meeting ended hastily after only a draft agreement that lacked a roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels and had no substantial content. The top two global emitters, the United States, were absent, while oil-producing countries such as Russia and Saudi Arabia strongly opposed it, ultimately leading to this result. In response, major foreign media commented: "The protocol document has very few provisions on how to address global warming."

However, South Korea proposed an unrealistic "National Determined Contribution" (NDC) at this conference, claiming that it would reduce carbon emissions by up to 61% compared to 2018 levels by 2035. Additionally, it announced its participation in the "Coal Exit Group." It publicly declared that South Korea will completely stop coal power generation by 2040. This means that, in a climate conference with little substantive outcome, South Korea has effectively shackled itself with two heavy chains.

At a time when people can truly feel the impact of climate change, cooperation with the international community to respond is indeed necessary. However, everything should be done with moderation. China, India, and the United States, which account for 75% of global coal usage, have ignored the Coal Exit Group, while Japan, which relies more on coal than South Korea, has reserved its decision to join, citing "energy security and flexibility." The South Korean government suddenly announced its participation without forming a national consensus. A hasty high-carbon emission reduction target cannot even be reduced according to the "no regression" clause of the Paris Agreement. Why is it so "radical"? Is the pursuit of the so-called "environmental top student" reputation more important than ensuring national industrial competitiveness?

In an era where the AI revolution has caused a surge in electricity demand, the South Korean government still measures and restricts nuclear power development based on unfounded concepts. It only talks about expanding solar and wind energy, but is unable to solve the fatal flaws of these energy sources being expensive and unstable in production. In this situation, blindly increasing greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and accelerating the phase-out of coal will significantly increase the burden on enterprises and inevitably lead to higher electricity prices. Countries hindered by environmental extremists will have a worrying future.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849643536381952/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.