Korea Faces Emissions Cuts in 2013

Korea will join the group of developed nations subject to mandatory greenhouse gas emissions cuts starting 2013.

The U.S., which declined to sign the Kyoto Protocol, and India and China, among developing countries, are also expected to receive mandatory reduction targets.

As Korea is required to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from 2013, the nation’s industries producing greenhouse gases are now facing challenges.

Delegations from 180 countries around the world participated in the 13th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in Bali, Indonesia on December 14 and hammered out a Bali road map for climate change measures, including negotiation areas, processes, and deadlines.

With the adoption of the road map, nations will negotiate to make a new climate change protocol until 2009. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, entered into force in 2005 and will expire in 2012.

Before reaching the agreement, the European Union insisted that a statement saying, “Developed countries need to consider cutting their emissions by 25-40% by 2020” be included in the road map, while the U.S. was strongly against the idea. Watching the deadlock over the issue, some people projected that the UNFCCC would fail to adopt a road map.

However, the two parties finally agreed on a somewhat mitigated statement, saying, “Developed countries should play a leading role in dealing with climate change” into the road map.

The road map requires developed countries to make a public pledge over how much greenhouse-gas emissions they will cut. Due to this clause, the U.S., which has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, is also likely to be subject to mandatory cuts to greenhouse-gas emissions.

Developing countries, including China and India, are allowed to make their own decisions on their targets, but they are required to set detailed and measurable goals.

According to Korean government officials, it is impossible for Korea, the world’s 9th largest greenhouse-gas emitter and the world’s 10th largest economy, to ignore its commitment to mandatory emissions cuts under the new climate change protocol which is scheduled to take effect in 2013.

The Korean delegation attending the Bali conference said, “The government and the industrial circles should closely cooperate and set up effective measures for the next five years in order to minimize the damage to the nation’s economy.”

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