Korea’s greenhouse gas emissions decline by 30 mn tons

Jung Eun-hae, Director of the Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center, announced that 2023 national greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 4.4% to 624.2 million tons. [Photo by Yonhap]

South Korean greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 28.6 million tons in 2023 compared to the previous year, a second consecutive year of declines, data showed on Tuesday.

According to the Greenhouse Gas Inventory & Research Center of Korea (GIR) on Tuesday, the country’s greenhouse gas emissions for 2023 were provisionally calculated at 624.2 million tons. This is a 4.4 percent decrease compared to the provisional emissions of 652.8 million tons in 2022 and is also 15.1 million tons less than the target set by the government in its 1st National Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth.

By sector, the energy sector saw the largest decline, with emissions falling by 7.6 percent. This was due to a 1.2 percent decrease in total electricity generation from 594 terawatt hours (TWh) to 587 TWh in 2022, along with an increased share of carbon-free energy sources like nuclear and renewable energy and a reduction in the use of fossil fuels such as coal.

In particular, the addition of the Shin Hanul Unit 1 reactor to the country’s power grid particularly contributed to enhancing the stability of power supply, according to GIR.

Emissions per gross domestic product (GDP) were 312.8 tons per billion won in 2023, the lowest level since 1990.

“There has been a clear trend of decoupling between economic growth and emissions reduction, even though GDP has increased year-on-year since 2022,” GIR President Jeong Eun-Hae said.

Sung Tae-yoon, director of national policy at the presidential office, also attributed the decline in emissions for the second consecutive year to the government‘s focus on restoring nuclear power and the nuclear energy ecosystem.

The government plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions even further via science and technology.

In a related development, the presidential office announced a restructuring on Tuesday that will transfer the office of the climate and environment secretary from under the senior secretary office for social affairs to the senior secretary office for science and technology.