[Book Sip] The 'Carbon Neutral Golden Time' Needed in the Era of Climate Disasters like 'Heatwaves and Heavy Rain'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly resonate with the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. Here, we introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from the book. - Editor's note

Amid growing interest in climate disasters caused by heatwaves and heavy rains sweeping across Korea and around the world, this book provides an overview of the past, present, and future of global warming, which is cited as the main cause. In addition to diagnosis, it also proposes alternatives. The author, a journalist who has covered the energy sector for 20 years, reminds us of the reasons and importance of the carbon neutrality discussion through diagnosing the causes and phenomena of climate change. The book also reviews the energy status and carbon neutrality implementation plans of various countries worldwide. Through this, it identifies the problems we face and analyzes the issues by dividing them into nuclear power ▲ renewable energy ▲ natural gas ▲ energy efficiency and demand management. Technologies for realizing carbon neutrality, RE100, and carbon border tax are also discussed.

Climate change is the result of accumulated carbon emissions over a long period. The problem is that even if we resolve to reduce CO₂ emissions to ‘zero’ starting today, the upward trend in global temperatures will not immediately stop. There is about a 20-year lag before the effect of CO₂ reduction appears as a decrease in global temperature. This is due to the law of inertia. It is similar to when you suddenly brake while driving a car, and the car does not stop immediately but continues to move forward.

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The industrial environment in the carbon-neutral era signals both a crisis and a new opportunity for us. Carbon neutrality is already becoming an ‘irreversible global order.’ If we fail to build industrial competitiveness suited to the carbon-neutral era, we face a high risk of falling behind in the global supply chain. On the other hand, the new industrial landscape offers Korea the chance to leap from a fast follower to a first mover. <306 pages>

The Russia-Ukraine war has brought two major changes to the global energy market. First, the prices of energy sources such as oil, gas, and coal surged sharply, reaffirming the importance of energy security. Along with this, doubts about the feasibility of achieving carbon neutrality increased. This is because the European Union (EU) began restarting coal-fired power plants due to Russia’s restrictions on natural gas supply, and countries that had declared nuclear phase-out started exploring ways to utilize nuclear power. However, change and innovation always come with ups and downs and resistance. Carbon neutrality is a path we must take even if we do not want to, and we inevitably will. <339 pages>

Therefore, to realize carbon neutrality, we must not fall into a dichotomous logic of “this is right and that is wrong” or “it was wrong then, but right now.” It is quite reckless and irresponsible policy to exclude other options to focus on just one. It is the role and duty of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration to boldly pursue the development of future energy technologies while balancing the use of various energy sources centered on energy efficiency. <343 pages>

Carbon Neutrality Golden Time | Written by Lee Jae-ho | Seoktop Publishing | 344 pages | 20,000 KRW

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