與 "Not a Carbon Neutral Left-Wing Issue"... Kim Sang-hyeop "Climate Change, the Biggest Risk"

"Carbon Neutrality, Not a Left-Wing Agenda
But Yoon's National Task and a Global Agenda"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-won] At the fourth meeting of the People Power Party study group 'Gukmin Gonggam,' a lecture was held on the 25th under the theme of 'The Era of Carbon Neutral Green Growth and the Future of Politics.' During the special lecture, opinions were expressed that the issue of carbon neutrality is not a 'left-wing issue' and that momentum should be given to the Yoon administration's national agenda.

On that day, Park Soo-young, a planning secretary of Gukmin Gonggam and a member of the National Assembly, said, "The issue of carbon neutrality is often thought of as a left-wing preemptive issue, but that is not the case at all. It is also included in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's national agenda," adding, "Because it is a universal human value to protect the Earth and because parts like the European Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are being weaponized, our government must prepare firmly, or there will be no future for the Republic of Korea. It is a very precious topic."

Kim Sang-hyeop, chairman of the 2050 Carbon Neutral Green Growth Committee, who gave the special lecture, mentioned, "It is not a left-wing agenda but a global agenda." Chairman Kim emphasized, "In the short term, this year’s energy crisis and price increases were announced as crises, but in the mid-to-long term, climate change is the greatest risk," adding, "Climate change is an 'existential risk' different from other risks. Because our very existence depends on this, it is on a different level."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Chairman Kim proposed 'ABCD (Advanced Bio Climate Digital)' as a way to respond to climate change risks. He said, "For Korea to do well in the future, it must excel in ABCD," adding, "From the three major trends after COVID-19?bio, climate and energy, and digital?Korea plays a leading role. Among these, climate is a factor with great sustainability, so its weight is overwhelmingly large."

He also emphasized the importance of pursuing renewable energy and nuclear energy together. He explained, "Because nuclear power is being introduced under this government, the feasibility of achieving carbon neutrality is increasing, but renewable energy was emphasized by the previous administration, so it does not mean that our government should not pursue it," adding, "We must strongly pursue nuclear power and renewable energy as the two main pillars."

However, Chairman Kim sharply criticized the previous administration’s mistakes regarding carbon neutrality and energy prices. He pointed out, "With the phase-out of nuclear power, Korea Electric Power Corporation’s (KEPCO) electricity purchase costs increased tremendously," adding, "Carbon neutrality and energy transition are good, but no painful measures accompanying them were taken, and electricity rates were frozen. The pressure to raise electricity rates has been fully passed on to the Yoon administration."

He also criticized the announcement by former President Moon Jae-in at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, where Korea pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 40% by 2030 compared to 2018, as ineffective. Chairman Kim said, "This is harder than trying to lose 40% of your body weight in a very short time," adding, "One of the strongest principles of the Paris Agreement is that once a target is announced, it cannot be pushed back." He continued, "When checking if the target was achievable, greenhouse gas emissions actually increased by 3.5% in 2021, the year the target was announced. The task was passed on without being done," emphasizing, "Our government must reduce emissions by an average of 5.48% annually."

Meanwhile, 42 members of the National Assembly, including Kim Jeong-jae, Noh Yong-ho, and Park Soo-young, as well as 10 out-of-office party district committee chairpersons, attended the meeting that day.

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