Director Sejong Yoon, Climate Solutions▶ Click here for a larger view
“At COP26, Korea’s participation in the statement to suspend coal power generation was a big topic.”
Sejong Yoon, director of Climate Solutions, an environmental group, who attended the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) held in Glasgow, England, gave this on-site atmosphere on the 5th (local time).
South Korea was placed on the list of 46 countries in the name of the Minister of Industry and Trade in the UK-led coalition suspension statement the day before.
This statement is a pledge that major economies will rapidly expand their technologies and policies to achieve the transition from thermal power generation without carbon abatement devices by the 2030s and globally by the 2040s.
There is also content that new coal-fired power plants will be permitted and construction will be suspended and the government will not provide direct support for overseas coal power plants.
Director Yoon said, “When the statement was confirmed on the afternoon of the same day, the announcement related to the suspension of fossil fuels in the world public finance was in progress at the British public relations hall in COP26. “The five countries announced that they had reached an agreement to phase out coal,” he said.
He said, “The UK, the host country of COP26, seemed excited when Korea joined the statement as the biggest goal of the event is to eliminate coal.”
He continued, “When I saw Korean activists at the COP26 event, they all talked about it, and a Japanese non-governmental organization (NGO) contacted me and said, ‘Japan has become more like a climate villain.'”
This statement is not binding. But he said, “Just because you’re involved and it’s not binding doesn’t mean you can ignore it.”
He also said, “It is difficult to say that Korea is not a major economy, so it will have to be done by the 2030s, which is earlier than the 2050 target announced by President Moon Jae-in. “Good policy conditions have been created for this,” he added.
Korea did not participate in the Coal-Free Coalition (PPCA) this time. The Coal-Free Alliance requires more stringent standards.
South Korea also did not join in on its promise to suspend public financial support for overseas fossil fuel projects that are not equipped with carbon reduction devices. About 20 countries, including the United States, participated, but China, Japan and Spain were excluded.
Director Yoon said, “Korea announced in April this year that it will stop supporting coal public finance, but fossil fuel support will soon be criticized.
The 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) UK Public Relations Hall▶ Click here for a larger view
In an interview on the 2nd, Director Yoon predicted that the country that decarbonizes first will dominate the market.
He said, “If we increase the rate of decarbonization now, we can become a country that offers a sustainable alternative,” he said.
“Sweden has declared that it uses hydrogen rather than coal when it jumps back into steel production, and in the future, Sweden could say, ‘We have no choice but to choose our expensive but carbon-neutral product’,” he said.
Director Yoon emphasized that the key to creating a ‘clean energy infrastructure’ is to broaden the scope of business operations in the new climate order, as Korea has a large carbon footprint in electricity generation.
He said, “The carbon border tax promoted by the European Union (EU) is currently limited to steel and fertilizer, but the target will be expanded in the future. .
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