A long road ahead to carbon neutrality

Jun 04, 2021, 08:34 am

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President Moon Jae-in speaks during an opening ceremony of the P4G Seoul Summit at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on May 30, 2021./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Jo Jae-hak

The South Korean government is speeding up its response to climate change by hosting the 2021 P4G Seoul Summit. However, it is not gaining momentum to introduce related legislations, such as a bill on creating a new vice-ministerial position in charge of energy policy, and a basic act on carbon neutrality.

Currently, the energy vice minister creation bill is pending in the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee while the carbon neutrality basic act is being discussed at the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee. The ruling Democratic Party (DP) is demanding cooperation from the National Assembly to achieve the carbon neutrality goal, but it seems tough considering opposition from the opposition bloc over creating a new energy vice minister and the combined review of five bills related to the carbon neutral basic act.

According to the political community on Thursday, the ruling party is providing legislative support to achieve the nation’s carbon neutrality drive. The move comes following President Moon Jae-in’s announcement of the national goal of going carbon neutral by 2050 in October last year and the adoption of the Seoul Declaration by the P4G Seoul Summit on May 31. “The Democratic Party will take the lead in implementing the Seoul Declaration as soon as possible,” said DP floor leader Yoon Ho-joong. “It will start with the enactment of the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act and the revision of the Government Organization Act, which involves creating a new energy vice-minister. We ask for the cooperation of the opposition party,” he said.

The new energy vice minister bill is based on establishing a new energy vice minister at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. To achieve carbon neutrality, the government believes a vice minister in charge of energy policy, such as expanding renewable energy supply and revitalizing the hydrogen economy, is necessary. However, the opposition bloc is critical of creating a new energy vice minister and expanding the related organization as the industry ministry had a rough time due to the government’s nuclear phase-out policy. They claim that the rare organizational expansion plan is intended to prevent lame duck period.

“I recognize the need for a new energy vice minister,” said Rep. Kim Do-eup, chief negotiator for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on the parliamentary Legislation and Judiciary Committee, in a phone interview with AsiaToday. “Within the party, some are questioning the intentions of the government and the ruling party. The energy vice minister creation bill is a matter that requires consultation between the ruling party and the opposition party.”

The enactment of the carbon neutrality basic act has a long way to go. The Environmental Bill Review Subcommittee under the National Assembly’s Environment and Labor Committee held a meeting to examine five bills related to the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act for the first time, but that was it.

“The more we discuss about the enactment of the Carbon Neutrality Basic Act, the more we realize that it is not a simple matter,” an official from the PPP said.

Ahead of the enactment, the biggest issues would be ‘insertion of the goals of year 2030’ and ‘characteristics of the Carbon Neutrality Committee,’ and more.

#Moon Jae-in #carbon neutrality #Democratic Party