[2021 National Audit] "KDB Invests 10.3 Trillion Won in CO2 Emission Oil and Natural Gas"

Assemblyman Min Hyung-bae: "Following Coal, Investments in Oil and Natural Gas Should Not Make Us Climate Villains"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Sun-mi]It has been revealed that the Korea Development Bank (KDB) has invested over 10 trillion won in oil and natural gas over the past decade.Oil and natural gas are the second largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions after coal, and continuing investments by KDB while ignoring this fact is pointed out as being in direct opposition to the government's carbon neutrality policy.

According to data submitted by KDB to Min Hyung-bae, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee (Democratic Party, Gwangju Gwangsan-gu Eul), from 2011 to 2020, KDB's investment in oil and natural gas reached 10.31919 trillion won over the past 10 years. By support method, loans accounted for 6.9769 trillion won, or 68% of the total, and guarantees accounted for 3.3395 trillion won, or 32%.

Looking at the investment status by energy source, out of the total 10.3 trillion won, 49% or 5.0957 trillion won was invested in natural gas, 28% or 2.9775 trillion won in oil, and the remainder was accounted for by joint oil and natural gas projects.

Following the 2050 carbon neutrality declaration, financial institutions have been announcing coal divestment policies, and oil and natural gas have been attracting attention as alternative energy sources to coal. The problem is that oil and natural gas are also fossil fuels and emit large amounts of carbon dioxide comparable to coal. While demand for financial investment in the coal industry has sharply declined, the climate crisis risks of oil and natural gas are still less known, and many financial institutions, including both private and public sectors, continue to invest.

It is pointed out that it is a serious problem that KDB, which declared the government's 2050 carbon neutrality and directly implements related New Deal funds, continues to support policy funds with government subsidies despite knowing the carbon emission impacts of oil and natural gas. The 10.3 trillion won invested by KDB in oil and natural gas is more than 13 times the 753.5 billion won invested in coal during the same period. It also exceeds half of the 19.2 trillion won invested in oil and natural gas by private banks (excluding policy banks) and insurance companies combined.

Analyzing the data, Assemblyman Min said, “Although oil and natural gas are spotlighted as alternative energy sources to coal, they are in fact energy sources that emit carbon dioxide comparable to coal,” adding, “KDB’s continued investment of government funds into stranded assets increases South Korea’s energy transition risks and is an act that goes against carbon neutrality.”

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