"2030 NDC Increase Raises Concerns Over Impact on Key Industries... Need for Balanced Adjustment"

KIAF, NDC Increase Topic at the 13th Industry Union Forum
"Annual Reduction Targets Should Be Flexible to Keep Pace with Carbon Neutrality and Related Developments"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yu Je-hoon] As the passage of the “Basic Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Climate Crisis Response” (hereinafter referred to as the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act), which mandates a reduction of the national greenhouse gas reduction target (NDC) by more than 35% compared to 2018 by 2030, is imminent in the National Assembly plenary session, the business community has requested a “pace adjustment” aligned with the speed of carbon neutrality technology development, arguing that damage to domestic key industries such as semiconductors, automobiles, and steel is inevitable.

The Korea Industrial Alliance Forum (KIAF) held the 13th Industrial Development Forum and the 4th online seminar on the 30th under the theme “Assessment and Suggestions on the Industrial Impact of the 2030 NDC Revision.” The Carbon Neutrality Basic Act, which recently passed the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, includes setting mid- to long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets to reduce emissions by more than 35% compared to the national greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 by 2030 as a task to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

At the seminar, concerns were raised about the main industries such as steel, petrochemicals, semiconductors, displays, and automobiles due to the upward adjustment of the 2030 NDC. While the greenhouse gas reduction target has been raised significantly, the development of technologies to realize this is slow, making actual damage inevitable.

For example, the steel industry, which had the highest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in 2018 (approximately 1,012,000 tons), plans to reduce emissions by up to 95% through innovative technology development by 2050; however, the core method, hydrogen reduction steelmaking technology, is expected to be completed only by 2040. Cho Kyung-seok, Executive Director of the Korea Iron and Steel Association, pointed out, “The steel industry has low additional greenhouse gas reduction capacity by 2030, so if the NDC is set at an unmanageable level, production cuts are a concern.”

The semiconductor industry is also worried about the deterioration of industrial competitiveness. Ahn Ki-hyun, Executive Director of the Korea Semiconductor Industry Association, said, “The semiconductor industry has already been aligned with the World Semiconductor Council (WSC)’s greenhouse gas reduction activities since 1997, so the potential for additional reductions is very limited,” adding, “Considering the large-scale investments currently underway to maintain global competitiveness, emissions in 2030 are inevitably expected to more than double.” The automobile industry advised that a government-level strategy is essential to maintain production and job bases during the transition to future vehicles following the NDC increase.

Jung Man-ki, Chairman of KIAF, stated, “Most of our manufacturing industries already have world-class energy efficiency and carbon emission reduction facilities, so there is little room for additional reductions,” and added, “The government needs to set reduction targets as cautiously as possible while flexibly easing annual reduction targets within the technology development period led by the government, such as carbon neutrality.”

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