Assessment of Korea's GHG Reduction Targets through Comparative Analysis of OECD Countries' Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

OECD 국가의 온실가스 감축공약(NDC)의 비교 분석을 통한 우리나라 온실가스 감축 목표 평가

Korea has introduced Korea Emissions In 2015, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) was held in Paris. The Paris Agreement indicates that all nations are in charge of mitigating climate change. Prior to COP21, 197 Parties submitted the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which are greenhouse gas reduction targets. On June 30, 2015, Korea also submitted an NDC target of 37% reduction compared to BAU in 2030. However, Korea's NDC was evaluated as "Inadequate" by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT). In addition, the domestic environmental group expressed a negative opinion as well. In view of this situation, it is necessary to conduct an objective assessment of quantitative analysis of NDC goals in Korea. The goal of this study is to evaluate NDC of Korea by comparing with those of OECD member countries. For comparative analysis, data such as population, GDP, primary energy supply affecting GHG emissions were obtained from the OECD homepage. The results indicate that emission reduction goal of 37% of Korea was $4^{th}$ highest goal among OECD member countries. If Korea achieves the emission reduction goal, the greenhouse gas emissions per capita in 2030 are $10^{th}$among OECD member countries. The greenhouse gas emissions per GDP are $13^{th}$, and emissions per TOE are $9^{th}$ among OECD member countries. The results show that greenhouse gas intensity of Korea is relatively high among OECD member countries. Therefore, it is needed to continuously endeavor to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate the global climate change. This study can be further used as a fundamental document to establish the future greenhouse reduction policy in Korea.