South Korea is shifting to a 'green economy' model as state-led initiatives and stimulus packages encourage investment in environmental sectors and efforts to fight climate change, according to a UN report.
The report, published yesterday by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), encouraged South Korea to set an even more aggressive target for greenhouse gas reduction, warning that Asia's fourth-largest economy is more vulnerable to the effects of climate change because of its heavy dependence on fossil fuel imports.
"The Republic of Korea has committed itself to moving away from the traditional 'brown economy' growth-at-any-cost model to a 'green economy' model where long-term prosperity and sustainability are the key objectives," Pavan Sukhdeve, chief of the UNEP Green Economy Initiative project, said.
"This commitment by the Republic of Korea has the potential of creating a domino effect on the other major Asian economies," Sukhdeve said, noting that two-thirds of global green stimulus has been committed in Asia.
The UNEP report was primarily an assessment of South Korea's multi-billion-dollar "Green New Deal," that commits 2 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product to green growth over the next five years.
South Korea is also planning greenhouse gas reductions by 2020, a critical policy connecting growth with climate change.
South Korea is reviewing three scenarios that seek to reduce emissions by 21 per cent, 27 per cent or 30 per cent of the estimates in 2020 if the current pace continues. A final decision is due within the year.
