South Korea bumps up greenhouse gas emissions goal

The South Korean government plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent from business-as-usual levels by 2030, officials announced Tuesday. 

The new target is higher than the 15-30 percent cut the government proposed earlier this month, Reuters reports. Officials have planned to decide on a final reduction rate — either 14.7, 19.2, 25.7 or 31.3 percent — based on public hearings, but revised their emissions goals higher instead. 

{mosads}The government “raised the target from the previous plans as it has acknowledged Korea’s leading role in anticarbon efforts in the global community and the need to take this opportunity to innovate in the renewable energy industry and manufacturing business,” South Korea Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn said, according to the Korea Herald. 

South Korea is one of the world’s top-ten carbon emitters. Its proposed cut — which will be submitted to the United Nations on Tuesday — will be based on what its carbon emissions would be in 2030 if no action is taken on climate change. 

South Korea’s emissions goal will be considered during a United Nations climate conference later this year. Ahead of the conference, the United States has pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 26-28 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels. 

In 2009, South Korea voluntary said it would cut its greenhouse gas emissions  by 30 percent in 2020, but the country has had to review its progress toward that goal after a carbon market it set up earlier this year has taken off more slowly than expected.

The White House said Tuesday that it supported South Korea’s new emissions target.

“The United States has been actively engaged with Korea as they’ve worked on their [Intended Nationally Determined Contribution], and in particular as they’ve finalized their INDC,” Brian Deese, President Obama’s top energy and climate change adviser, said Tuesday. Deese noted that Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-hye discussed the issue earlier this month.

“We are pleased to see the Koreans set a target that is more ambitious than the draft public scenarios that were out for consultation, and to make a target that is consistent with their prior commitments to 2020 emissions goals.”

—Timothy Cama contributed to this report. It was updated at 11:05 a.m.