Only 1 in 10 Export Companies Respond to Climate Change...Urgent Need for Policy Support

Martial Arts, Publication of Report on 'Current Status and Implications of Climate Change Response by Export Companies'
40.4% of Companies Have No Climate Change Response Plan
Main Reason for No Plan: 'Lack of Funds'

Only one out of ten export companies is responding to climate change, according to a survey. There are calls for expanded financial support to reduce the burden on companies.

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) International Trade and Commerce Research Institute published a report titled "Current Status and Implications of Export Companies' Responses to Climate Change" on the 25th.

This report was prepared to examine the status of corporate responses at a time when various climate change policies, such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and mandatory ESG disclosures, are being implemented. It is based on a survey of 408 export companies.

The report shows that 95.6% of export companies recognize the importance of responding to the climate crisis, and 85% of export companies responded that the climate crisis affects their business activities and exports. However, only 10% of companies are actually responding to climate change, and 40.4% of companies said they have no plans to respond in the future. In particular, the response rate was significantly lower for smaller companies and those with shorter export experience.

[Provided by KITA]

Responding companies cited "lack of funds" as the reason for not adequately responding to climate change. Among the companies that currently do not respond to climate change (165 companies), about half (46.1%, multiple responses allowed) answered that they could not establish a climate change response plan due to a lack of funds to cope with new environmental changes. This was followed by "not knowing reduction methods" (42.4%), "lack of personnel" (37.6%), and "no need to respond" (23.0%).

Companies that responded they are responding or have plans to respond to climate change (243 companies) also cited "cost burden related to process improvement and equipment introduction" (65.4%, multiple responses allowed) as the biggest difficulty in achieving carbon neutrality goals. Regardless of whether companies respond to climate change, "cost" was identified as the biggest burden. Following cost burden, companies answered that "lack of professional personnel" (59.3%), "technical limitations" (47.7%), and "lack of information such as guidelines and business transition" (42.0%) were challenging.

Export companies identified "financial support for equipment replacement" as the most necessary support policy to respond to the climate crisis. 63.2% of responding companies said financial support is most needed, and smaller companies showed a relatively higher preference for support in equipment replacement.

In addition, a high proportion of companies responded that "support for research and technology development" (32.4%) and "information on carbon emission calculation methods and reduction measures" (31.6%) are needed, indicating the necessity to prepare support measures to improve companies' technological and informational capabilities for responding to climate change.

Jang Hyun-sook, a team leader at the Korea International Trade Association, said, "It is necessary to expand financial support to reduce the burden on companies," and added, "It is also necessary to establish customized support policies considering company size and export experience." She emphasized, "Policies supporting related technology development in the mid to long term should also be promoted in parallel so that companies can seize new market opportunities through the development of climate-friendly products and services."

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