• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.343-355
• /
• 2018

A new climate regime was intensively negotiated from 2011 to 2015, culminating in adoption of the Paris Agreement. The Agreement went into effect on 4th of November 2016. Follow-up negotiation to implement the Paris Agreement has continued since May 2016 and is expected to be finalized by 2018. This paper reviews and analyzes the process of establishment of the new climate regime based on the Paris Agreement, focusing on the main issues and the negotiating positions of major groups of developed and developing countries. This paper details various important issues determining the final outcome of the Paris Agreement and discusses the follow-up negotiation in the years 2016 and 2017. It concludes with discussion of the various implications of the Paris Agreement, which will determine important aspects of our future socioeconomic life well into the 21st century.

• Journal of Korea Technical Association of The Pulp and Paper Industry
• /
• v.48 no.2
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2016

The new climate regime for practical reduction in green house gas(GHG) emissions was launched in Paris at Dec. 2015. The Korea government would make various policies and plans in order to achieve the BAU 37 % emission reduction goals by 2030. In this study, the current situation and the possible corresponding methodology to the GHG emission reduction of Korea paper industry were investigated. Although the GHG emission reduction in KOREA paper industry has been successfully conducted compared with other industries until now, the more efforts for controlling GHG emission would be required to meet the new climate regime. The efficiency of various GHG reduction projects conducted by Korea paper companies was evaluated to find efficient way for GHG reduction. The certified methodologies of the external project based offset systems in Korea GHG emission trading scheme were also reviewed for providing the possible way to develope tailored methodology to the Korea paper industry.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.9 no.2
• /
• pp.181-195
• /
• 2018

On December 12, 2015, the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted the Paris Agreement, in which several developed and developing countries all committed to participating in the reduction of greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. South Korea has submitted an intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) proposal with a target to cut down 37% greenhouse gas business as usual (BAU) until 2030 in preparation for the 2030 GHG BAU. Under the post-2020 regime, which will be launched from 2021 as the agreement entered into force early, it is expected that efforts to support GHG reduction and adaptation to climate change in developing countries will be accelerated with the utilization of technologies and financial resources of developed countries. South Korea has established the Basic Plan for Climate Change Response and the Basic National Roadmap for Greenhouse Gas Reductions by 2030 to promote the response to climate change at the government level. The Ministry of Science and ICT, as the National Designated Entity designated by the UNFCCC, has come up with middle and long-term strategies for climate technology cooperation. South-Korea has an abundance of energy-consuming industries to support its export-oriented industrial structure; it is thus expected that achieving the GHG reduction target will incur a considerable cost. Moreover, in order to meet the reduction target (11.3%) of the intended nationally determined contribution proposed by South Korea, it is necessary for South Korea to actively promote projects that can achieve GHG reduction achievements, and financial resources are needed as leverage to reduce risks that can occur in the early stages of projects and attract private sector investment. This paper summarizes the theoretical discussions on climate finance and conducted a comparative analysis on the status of the funds related to climate change response in the UK, Germany, Japan and Denmark. Through this, we proposed the legal and policy tasks that should be carried forward to raise public funds that can be used for creation of new industries related to climate change as well as to reduce GHG emissions in South Korea. The Climate Change Countermeasures Act, which has been proposed by the National Assembly of South-Korea, stipulates the establishment of funds but there is no additional funding except for general account. In this regard, it is also possible to take measures such as the introduction of carbon tax or the collection and use of royalties through technology research and development projects for climate change, such as Industrial Technology Innovation Promotion Act. In addition, since funds are used in various fields such as domestic greenhouse gas reduction, technology development, and overseas projects, it is necessary to establish a system in which various ministries cooperate with the operation of the fund.

• Environmental and Resource Economics Review
• /
• v.26 no.3
• /
• pp.319-357
• /
• 2017

The pillar of the Paris Agreement, which will define the efforts of the international community against climate change since 2020, is the INDCs submitted by each country. In this study, the INDCs of the major industrial and developing countries (EU, USA, Japan, China, India) and South Korea are reviewed and national circumstances are analyzed based on the status of industrial structure, power mix and GHG emissions. We will also present South Korea's strategies in future climate change negotiations. South Korea should ; find out the special differentiating factors favorable to Korea with which the international community can agree; and establish an interagency working group to prepare for the periodical renewal of the INDC.

• Journal of Climate Change Research
• /
• v.8 no.1
• /
• pp.73-80
• /
• 2017

This study sees the past, present and future of the international carbon market. It is expected that it is not until 2020 and beyond before the international carbon market is settled by international consensus, and it is too early to picture the international carbon market at this point. Instead, this study focuses on analyzing the content of Article 6 of the Paris Convention, being fully aware of the uncertainties surrounding the international carbon market and can only be a step in determining the future of the international carbon market. In the future, the international negotiations will be under fierce competition of countries, each of which aims to make their advantageous system or mechanism recognized internationally Therefore, it is necessary for Korea to devise a system that can maximize the national interest and try to be recognized in the international society. To accomplish this, the following tasks are required at the present stage. First, we need to include the basic directions for the reduction using the international carbon market in the preparation of the roadmap for GHG reduction in Korea. Based on the directions presented in the roadmap for reducing GHG emissions, Korea should set up a government-wide plan on the international carbon market. In addition, a long-term TF should be formed to enact such plans in the international community. The international carbon market is an issue that several professional fields overlap, and it is indeed difficult to pursue by a single ministry. Therefore, it is necessary to create and strengthen the TF that can cope immediately with the international movement.

• The Southeast Asian review
• /
• v.27 no.4
• /
• pp.1-40
• /
• 2017

This study aims to examine the electricity/energy regime of Thailand, the largest energy-hungry country in the Mekong region. This study examined how the electricity/energy regime of Thailand has been shaped and changed up to the present, not only at the national level but also at the sub-regional level covering the Mekong region. Meanwhile, according to the Paris Agreement in 2015, which will get in to effect from 2020, developing countries as well as developed countries have been given voluntary responsibilities and reduction obligations in response to global climate change. Under the post 2020 Climate Change Regime, Thailand also needs to revise its existing electricity/energy policy. We reviewed the recent energy policy of Thailand and evaluated the possibility of transition to a sustainable energy system based on Energy Trilemma's analysis framework. And we examined the roles and impacts of the Thai civil society on the national power and energy planning as well as in the future climate change policy. As a result of the analysis, it can be seen that Thailand's electricity/energy regime has grown rapidly through the support of the West countries under the Cold War era. In particular, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand(EGAT) played the key role in Thailand's energy policy. In addition, Thailand's geopolitical location and relatively high economic level compared to neighboring countries will continue to be of importance in the future construction of power grids in the region. Meanwhile, in the frame of Energy Trilemma, Thailand has still been vulnerable to environmental sustainability. Thai NGOs have resisted to as well as collaborated with the government to influence the existing electricity/energy policy in the various dimensions but their influence has weakened considerably since the coup in 2014. In conclusion, this study suggests to cooperate with government as well as civil society for sustainable energy transformation of Thailand and Mekong region.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.39 no.6_3
• /
• pp.1731-1745
• /
• 2023

Within the framework of the post-2020 climate regime, the Paris Agreement's emphasis on Nationally Determined Contributions and Biennial Transparency Reporting is paramount in addressing its long-term temperature goal. A salient issue is the treatment of wetland ecosystems within the context of Land Use, Land-Use Change, and Forestry, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In the 2019 National Inventory Report, wetlands were recategorized as emission sources due to their designation as inundated areas. This study employs C-band radar imagery to discriminate between inundated and non-inundated regions of wetlands, enabling the quantification of their spatial dynamics. The research capitalizes on 24-period Sentinel-1 satellite data to cover both the inundation and desiccation phases while centering its attention on Ungok Wetland, a Ramsar-designated inland wetland conservation area in Korea. The inundated area is quantitatively assessed through the integration of multi-temporal Sentinel-1 Single-Look Complex (SLC) data, aerial orthophotography, and inland wetland spatial information. Furthermore, the study scrutinizes fluctuations in the maximum and minimum inundated areas, with substantial changes corroborated via drone aerial reconnaissance. The outcomes of this investigation hold the potential to make substantive contributions to the refinement of national greenhouse gas absorption and emission factors, thereby informing the development of comprehensive greenhouse gas inventories. These efforts align directly with the overarching objectives of the Paris Agreement.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
• /
• v.39 no.6
• /
• pp.1-13
• /
• 2019

With the adoption of the Paris Agreement, a new climate regime is intensifying the global interest in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the meantime, Korea is preparing to introduce a new renewable energy carbon certification system in order to activate the use of renewable energy and to reduce carbon emissions in the entire life cycle of manufacturing and disposal of renewable energy facilities. Therefore, this study aims to identify the implications for the introduction of the carbon certification system and to establish a theoretical basis for the system design by examining the status of overseas carbon certification, international trade norms and trade disputes. As a result, carbon emissions certification is being implemented in developed countries such as EU, UK, France, USA and Japan, but only France, Germany and EU have adopted carbon certification for renewable energy sector. The analysis of the WTO TBT Agreement and GATT also confirmed the possibility of a violation of the international trade rules of the carbon certification system and derived nine international technical standards related to carbon certification. Finally, by examining the case of trade disputes related to environmental labeling, the minimum requirements to be considered at the institutional design stage were drawn to eliminate the possibility of trade disputes.