Choo Mi-ae Announces Environmental Pledge: "Abolish Coal Power Plants and Transition Away from Internal Combustion Engines"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Former Minister of Justice and ruling party presidential candidate Choo Mi-ae announced an environmental pledge on the 4th, stating, "We will ban the construction of new coal power plants and accelerate the closure of existing coal power plants."

On the same day, Choo held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office and announced the third pledge, "Eco Politics," which includes these details.

Choo stated, "We will gradually reduce the proportion of fossil fuels in the energy system and dramatically increase renewable energy," adding, "We will establish a system to focus on supporting renewable energy technology development. The phase-out of nuclear power will also proceed through a step-by-step process based on this principle, and we will prepare for the transition away from internal combustion engines."

To this end, she plans to amend the constitution to enshrine "climate justice" as a fundamental right and establish a "Green Great Transition Council" chaired by the president. She also intends to promote a carbon tax. Choo emphasized, "Carbon taxes and carbon tariffs must be fundamental, and responsibility for carbon emissions along with dividends based on this must also be fundamental."

Additionally, she pledged to raise the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for greenhouse gas reduction. Choo said, "We will revise the national greenhouse gas emission reduction target for 2030 to at least 50 percent compared to 2018," adding, "Although the higher target may seem burdensome compared to previous goals, it will make our actions faster and bolder."

She further stated, "The timing, budget, and scale will be organized through broad and in-depth discussions with experts," adding, "In this process, we will carefully design a just transition to address job shifts and community acceptance to maximize the effectiveness of the Green New Deal."

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