South Korea: Leading The World The Wrong Way In Carbon Emissions

Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by Ross in Asia, Climate Change

Think about the world’s worst environmental offenders with respect to climate change, and the same culprits always spring to mind: USA, Australia, China, India, Canada… South Korea?!

Whilst the rest of the world have bickered over who should reduce carbon emissions the most, South Korea have managed to sneak under the eco-radar in true anti-climate ninja fashion and show the rest of the world exactly how not to prevent global warming.

South Korea’s emissions have grown 133% between 1990 and 2007: by far the largest growth in emissions amongst the 30 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations, according to International Energy Agency figures.

By comparison, global emissions only rose 38%. Countries such as Germany, the UK and Russia have seen substantial decreases in their emissions over the same timeframe, exceeding Kyoto commitments (although Russia benefitted in this regard from the industrial collapse brought about by the fall of communism, as did the rest of the Soviet block).

Whilst the news is likely to put more pressure on South Korea at the forthcoming Copenhagen conference, the country’s internal energy use had already become a matter of urgent national importance. South Korean energy price rises, brought on by national utilities unable to balance their books, have put a new-found craving for energy efficiency high on the political agenda. As a result, the South Korean government is pouring $85 billion into energy efficiency and other green technologies, providing a fantastic green business opportunity for entrepreneurs wishing to take advantage of plentiful government funding.