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South Korea Carbon Trading Bill Faces Opposition From Businesses
2011-01-11 09:17:43.99 GMT
By Shinhye Kang
Jan. 11 (Bloomberg) -- South Korea's government is facing
opposition from business groups over its proposal to start a
carbon-emissions trading system in 2013.
Business groups, including the Federation of Korean
Industries, the Korea International Trade Association, the
Korean Employers Federation and the Korea Federation of Small
and Medium Business, want the government to delay the adoption
of carbon emissions trading, the Korea Chamber of Commerce &
Industry said at a conference today on the subject in Seoul.
The system will increase costs for domestic companies and
make them less competitive than rivals from Japan and China,
which don't have emissions trading, Lee Jong In, head of climate
change team at the Korea Chamber of Commerce. He didn't give a
figure for the increase in costs.
The government of Asia's fourth-biggest polluter said in
November it will aim to adopt a carbon-emissions trading system
in 2013 as part of its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and fight global warming. The proposal requires public
hearing sessions and parliamentary approval.
The Federation of Korean Industries, the country's largest
business group, has 507 members including Posco, South Korea's
largest steelmaker and Korea Electric Power Corp.
Annual revenue at South Korea's main industries may fall 12
trillion won ($10.7 billion) should emissions trading be
introduced, the Korea Economic Daily reported on Nov. 25, citing
a research paper by the Korea Economic Research Institute.
Saving Energy
The government also announced on Sept. 28 that companies
with factories producing at least 25,000 metric tons of carbon
dioxide a year must set energy-saving and greenhouse gas-
reduction targets by September 2011. They will face fines of as
much as 10 million won if the targets aren't met.
South Korea said in 2009 that it would voluntarily reduce
carbon emissions by 30 percent from the expected 2020 level, or
4 percent below its emissions in 2005. South Korea may become
the second nation to start emissions trading in Asia after New
Zealand if the parliament approves.
Europe accounted for 81 percent of total emissions trades
in 2010, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This trend
is set to continue through 2020 given the lack of progress on
legislation in the U.S., Japan and Australia, Guy Turner, an
analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance said last week.
Japan's Environment Minister Ryu Matsumoto declined to
commit to a schedule in a press conference on Dec. 28 after a
meeting with other ministers to discuss the nation's emissions
trading plans. In August, an environment ministry panel
recommended starting emission trading in fiscal 2013.
For Related News and Information:
Top environment news page: GREEN <GO>
Most-read climate-change stories: MNI CLIMATE <GO>
South Korea's energy statistics: ENST <GO>
Top energy stories: ETOP <GO>
--Editors: Aaron Sheldrick, Paul Gordon.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Shinhye Kang in Seoul at +82-2-3702-1638 or
skang24@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Amit Prakash at +65-6212-1167 or
aprakash1@bloomberg.net.
