South Korea pledges to set carbon emissions target for 2020

South Korea has pledged to set a moderate target for carbon emissions by 2020 later this year, a move that will help protect the nation from border taxes by Kyoto signatories, according to an influential think-tank.

The government yesterday announced it would choose a greenhouse gas target of either an eight per cent rise from 2005 output by 2020, unchanged from 2005, or four per cent below 2005 levels.

"Compared to developed countries, the targets may look mild," Sang-hyup Kim, presidential secretary for the National Future and Vision advisory council, was quoted as saying by Reuters news service. "But these are utmost, sincere efforts, reflecting Korea's capabilities."

South Korea emitted 594 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2005, nearly double the 298 million tonnes produced in 1990, according to the government. It attributed the rise to energy consumption for industrial production, power generation and transport.

Each of the three target options would cost between 0.3 and 0.5 per cent of the nation's GDP to implement, said the government, which has won plaudits from environmentalists in recent months for earmarking more than 80 per cent of its economic stimulus funds for clean tech projects.

Officials predicted carbon emission reductions could be achieved through the greater use of hybrid cars and renewable and nuclear power sources. Energy efficiency measures, such as light-emitting diodes, would also play a part, they added.

As South Korea is considered a developing country, it is not a signatory to the Kyoto protocol. However, it has come under international pressure to set an emissions cap, given its financial strength as the world's thirteenth biggest economy.

The US government's Energy Information Agency data from 2006 places the country as the ninth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, although an update on the figures, slated for this month, may show a move up the rankings.

If the nation failed to set carbon reduction targets, it could fall victim to carbon border taxes, according to a private Korean private think-tank.

The concept of a carbon tariff, which is under consideration in the US, the EU and Japan, would work as an import fee levied by countries with carbon taxes or other carbon pricing mechanisms on goods made by nations "that do not join the anti-greenhouse gas initiative", Kang Hee-chan, a researcher from the Samsung Economic Research Institute, told the Korea Times newspaper.

The institute, the research arm of the country's biggest conglomerate, Samsung Group, last month forecast that if a carbon border tax was imposed on South Korea, exports would fall by 3.9 per cent annually, equal to about $4.3bn (£2.5bn) per year.

Kang also noted that the nation's manufacturers needed to reduce the carbon footprint of their products to be more competitive with international rivals, as green incentives overseas could sway consumer choice.

"Let's say that Samsung Electronics and Nokia make cell phones, the quality and prices of which are the same, by and large," said Kang. "But what if the production of the Nokia gadget emitted less carbon dioxide compared to that of the Samsung? Consumers would get a cash refund from the government if they were to pick up the Nokia."

He noted that only six per cent of South Korean companies have announced plans to reduce greenhouse emissions in the manufacture of their products. "We need to jack up this ratio to prepare for international efforts in global green campaigns," he said.