Challenging 2050 Carbon Neutrality... Moon "Foreign Countries Also Struggle," Ruling Party Lawmaker "Impossible"

Ultimately, Disagreements Surrounding Nuclear Power... 'No to Nuclear Power' vs 'Difficult Without Nuclear Power'

President Moon Jae-in emphasizing the importance of strengthening offshore wind power competitiveness and green energy at the 'Korean New Deal, Green Energy Site - The Wind Blows' event held on July 17 in the offshore wind power demonstration complex in Buan-gun, Jeonbuk. (Image source=Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] "It's not only us who are facing difficulties. If we struggle, others do too." "It's impossible."

Reactions within the political sphere are divided regarding the 2050 carbon neutrality policy. There is a subtle difference in opinions about its feasibility.

On the 11th, President Moon emphasized at the low-carbon development strategy report and meeting, "2050 carbon neutrality is not just a value orientation or philosophy of our government, but a new economy and international order demanded globally," adding, "The world has already started to sprint, and we cannot walk alone."

He continued, "If we go separately, detached from global trends, we will inevitably face regulations such as carbon border taxes, finance, and trade," and added, "The difficulties are the same for the United States, which withdrew from and is trying to rejoin the Paris Agreement, and it is a common challenge worldwide."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, voices within the ruling party expressed doubts about its high feasibility.

On the 12th, Yoo Dong-soo, Senior Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, said President Moon's '2050 carbon neutrality' declaration is "impossible."

Senior Deputy Chairman Yoo assessed, "Countries like Denmark and the Netherlands in Europe have wind power accounting for 30-40%, and they install wind power plants as densely as nuclear power plants, enabling nuclear phase-out, but it is difficult for us to phase out nuclear power."

He added, "I believe we inevitably have to keep nuclear power," pointing out, "I think coal power, which emits carbon, can be replaced, but nuclear power does not emit carbon. We have a huge amount of nuclear power generation facilities."

This contrasts with the Moon Jae-in administration's national philosophy aiming to create a 'nuclear-free country' by actively promoting 'not only coal phase-out but also nuclear phase-out.'

The pledge of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden, whom the ruling party presents as aligned with our Green New Deal direction, shows a different stance regarding the 'nuclear power possession system.'

The U.S. government pursues cost reduction and commercialization by promoting Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) at the government level, which differs from Korea, where only some companies like Doosan Heavy Industries are involved.

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