At the sidelines of the Commemorative Summit between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea last June 1st, I dropped by the exhibit of Korean companies in the sustainable field. One Korean company was in methane-fueled power generation from 4 large landfills near Incheon airport. Doosan Heavy Industries is developing its first prototype of a 3 MW offshore wind turbine.
I was particularly impressed on learning that Kia and Hyundai Motors are collaborating on designing a 100% hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicle. It was an impressive showcase of Korean corporate efforts to position themselves in the green technology business.
In August 2008, the Korean government launched a series of bold green initiatives to help Korea leapfrog into a low carbon society. It set a goal of increasing the share of renewable energy from 2.2% in 2006 to 11% by 2030. A stimulus package of 50 trillion Korean won (US$ 38 billion) was allotted for 9 key green projects that will create 950,000 new green jobs over the next 4 years. An interesting action step is the appointed of “chief green officers (CGOs)” in all public institutions to promote Green Growth in all public policies.
At the G8 Summit in 2008, President Lee Myung-bak declared that Korea will be “an early mover in addressing climate change”. He consequently launched the “East Asia Climate Partnership” with a US$200 million development assistance initiative for developing countries in East Asia.
Go Green!
