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| Another Korean bottle destined for recycling. |
The UNFCCC has many interesting things to say about the
green movement in the Republic of Korea.
Green Movement may be the wrong word to use, Koreans don’t see the move
to a sustainable future as giving convenience up or taking on an extra
burden. To them it is more like a duty
and an opportunity to be a pivotal force in a new and emerging market. On Koreas 60th anniversary
President Lee Myung-buk proposed the future vision for Korea be one of “Low
Carbon, Green Growth.” Under this vision it would create more jobs, new
technology, clean energy and it would solidify Koreas place on the map as a
leader in green technology innovation. Koreans
are also very green inter-county travelers, Koreans travel mostly by subway, commuter
or bullet train. While there has been an
incredible leap in the amount of cars on the peninsula most people prefer to do
most of their commuting by train.
Korea also seems ready for adaptation, it does have a ski
season in the winter but they are already planning ahead for when there is no
more snow. They have come up with the
idea of green-grass skiing and turning skiing areas into hiking and wilderness
areas. The other main idea for
adaptation is to genetically adapt their foods with a more resilient
strain. Crops are mostly grown in the
lowlands that will be susceptible to flooding with typhoons and sea-level
rise. These crops need to be able to be
grown in brackish water. Livestock and
will also need to more adaptive to Global Climate change, not only is their environment changing but there
is also a growing demand for meats such as fish, chicken and beef. Meats of all type will be genetically engineered
to produce more meat in a faster amount of time.
Korea has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, it was accepted in
2005 and entered into the force in 2008.
Korea was not required to reduce their emissions in any way, even so
they went a step further and vowed that by 2020 they would be 30% below the
business as usual (BAU) average. Korea
as a whole has embraced the problem of climate change and turned it into an opportunity
to become a world leader in new and more efficient power distribution networks and
solar technologies. Korea fits in as
being part of the solution not the problem.
They are not cutting production levels to bring their pollution levels
down; instead they are finding better and greener ways of maintaining and
increasing their levels of production.
Korea’s idea of mitigation is a proactive technological
solution to energy production for the rest of the world. Wind energy would not work well there because
the area is mostly mountainous, instead they get many days of sunshine which would
be perfect solar energy. With their
specialty being the development and production of new high-tech products they are
perfectly suited to create new types of solar solutions. Their personal goals for the country far
exceed the Kyoto protocol; by 2022, 10% of the country will be powered by
solar. The small island to the south of
Korea will feel these impacts far sooner; the Korean government has decided to
use the island for the development of new “smart grids,” these will distribute power
more efficiently as well as having charging stations for electric cars.
Korea
has solved its investment capital problem by becoming its own first
customer. KEPCO the national energy
company has to follow the mandates set forth by their government so they are
shopping around for a solar energy provider.
They can produce most things cheaper than buying from abroad so all they
have to do is find an initial design that works for them and that sets the ball
rolling. The societal impacts of being
the forerunner in green technology is huge.
If the Middle East has nothing but oil, imagine how rich the country
that makes oil obsolete will become.
Koreans as a culture will do great with the idea of sustainability, to
them this is less of new world and more of an ever changing present and for being
a very dense population they are a very clean and respectful people, towards others
and towards the Earth and environment.
Korea is one of the few places in the world where climate
change can be an opportunity and a precipice to greatness. There is a short list of countries who have
gotten behind the solution to global climate change instead joining in the
debate over global warming. They only
need to do what they are best at, have a deeply science based society with a
fantastic ability for research and development and to produce that product
cheaply, efficiently and make it durable.
If they hold firm to their vows to the UN and the environment, they
literally have the power to save the world.
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The beautiful and clean downtown Seoul.
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Korea is not only about making the world a cleaner place but is dedicated to keeping their half of the peninsula as clean as possible. One example is recycling in Korea is not dividing things into one or two plastic totes and calling it good. Korea has you sort your trash into 15 different categories; Metal- Tin and Aluminum, Glass- green, brown and clear, Paper- newspaper and cardboard, Plastic- Styrofoam, light plastic, hard plastic, plastic bags, sulfate, bottles, and in my year of being there I never figured out what you’re supposed to do with batteries. Korea is fervent in its belief about what it can do to mitigate, adapt and like few others, profit from this experience; there is no doubt in my mind Korea will exceed and surpass all the goals it has laid for itself.
