President Moon to Announce 'NDC Enhancement' on 1st... China and Russia Absent from COP26

Attending the UN Climate Change Convention Conference of the Parties... Major Greenhouse Gas Emitting Countries Show Lukewarm Attitude Toward Reduction

[Asia Economy Reporters Ryu Jeong-min and Lee Ji-eun] President Moon Jae-in announced on the 1st (local time) at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, UK, an enhanced Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.

The Blue House expects this to raise Korea's status and strengthen its "climate leadership," but concerns remain about the "over-speed policy" that is disconnected from the realities of the domestic industrial sector.

COP26 is a forum to review the implementation status of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement and discuss concrete countermeasures. Invited by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Moon is expected to emphasize the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions alongside major countries such as the United States and Germany.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon also plans to declare Korea's participation in the "Global Methane Pledge," which aims to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2020. Earlier, on the 31st of last month, at the G20 summit, President Moon announced that coal power generation would be completely phased out by 2050.

The problem is that even in Europe, there is a growing call to slow down the pace of carbon neutrality due to the energy crisis. The lukewarm attitudes of key countries that will determine the success or failure of greenhouse gas reduction are also variables. China and Russia, the world's first and fourth largest greenhouse gas emitters, are not attending COP26.

Shin Beom-cheol, head of the Foreign and Security Center at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, said, "(President Moon's NDC enhancement) sets an aggressive target considering international climate change response leadership," adding, "Due to the passivity of China and Russia, which have the highest carbon emissions, the effect of COP26 will be limited."

On the other hand, the Blue House holds the position that Korea must join the trend of enhancing the NDC to proactively respond to the global industrial restructuring. Park Soo-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, said in an interview with TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 1st, "(If we do not reduce carbon emissions) the future of the Republic of Korea cannot be guaranteed; it is a crucial, civilization-historical turning point globally."

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