Early Expansion of Electric Vehicle Subsidies & Mandatory Sales as 'Green New Deal' Blueprint... Democratic Party "Under Review"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] The Energy Transition Forum, which includes academia, businesses, and civic groups, is presenting the blueprint for the 'Green New Deal,' including the early expansion of electric vehicle subsidies and mandatory sales quotas for eco-friendly vehicles. The ruling party plans to review this and proceed with party-government consultations.

On the 19th, the Energy Transition Forum announced on the 18th that it will propose the basic direction of the Green New Deal and project plans such as 'Solar Power Schools,' wind power industry development measures, green remodeling, green future vehicles, and Green New Deal regional special zones. Kim Seong-hwan, head of the Democratic Party's New Deal Task Force, said, "As the person responsible for the Korean version of the New Deal in the Democratic Party, we intend to review and finalize various measures, including the opinions proposed by the Energy Transition Forum."

The forum positions itself as a hub for discussions involving industry, academia, research, civil society, government officials, and politics (産·學·硏·民·官·政) as a leading domestic climate change response organization. Professors such as Hong Jong-ho of Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies serve as co-chairs, and advisors include Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, former Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik, Justice Party leader Shim Sang-jung, and United Future Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min. Yang Yi-won-young, a Democratic Party elected official who served as the forum's secretary-general, and lawmaker Kim Seong-hwan are advisory committee members.

A forum official stated, "The principle is to invest with the goal of expanding jobs in response to the crisis caused by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while focusing on projects that are absolutely necessary for the future." Regarding eco-friendly future vehicles, the plan is to accelerate the purchase subsidies scheduled until 2022 and concentrate support until the end of next year, and to apply a mandatory sales system for future vehicles to automakers. This method is already widely implemented overseas."

To dramatically increase demand for future vehicles, the public sector will invest, and the private sector can expand production investment based on this. The official explained, "Since domestic automobile industry employment is centered on internal combustion engines, jobs will decrease as it transitions to future vehicles. If demand is significantly increased at the early stage of this transition, automakers can add more domestic factories, and investment in the battery industry will also grow."

To expand energy generation such as wind and solar power, the forum proposes building a separate power grid. It is difficult to activate renewable energy generation scattered across regions nationwide with the existing centralized high-voltage transmission network focused on thermal or nuclear power generation. Regarding school facilities, since the overall facilities are aging and relatively low educational electricity rates apply, the plan is to focus investment on solar power generation facilities.

Additionally, the plan includes creating special zones that gather data centers requiring large amounts of electricity to operate on green energy. Locations can be chosen in areas with unstable employment or regions densely populated with shrinking coal power plants. For green remodeling, which involves converting to energy-efficient housing, the proposal suggests easing building regulations only in employment-vulnerable areas. This consideration is due to the potential for nationwide deregulation to cause real estate price instability.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.