This file photo shows the buildings of South Korea’s major companies in Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Nearly half of South Korea’s large companies have a pessimistic view about the potential for achievement of the government’s greenhouse gas reduction goal, a survey showed Monday.
According to a survey of 100 out of 500 major manufacturers conducted by the Federation of Korean Industries, 48 percent of the respondents said that the chances of achieving national greenhouse gas reduction, or nationally determined contribution (NDC) target by 2030 are slim.
Last year, the government announced it will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from the 2018 levels by 2030, sharply raising its previous goal of 26.3 percent, and reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Among the companies surveyed, 56 percent said that if the targets remain unchanged, the level of corporate competitiveness would deteriorate by 2030 compared to now, higher than 33 percent who said that competitiveness would be maintained.
In response to a question asking if concrete carbon emission figures are set to achieve 2030 NDC target, 33 percent said no.
On average, the respondents said that 15.8 percent would be an adequate level of reduction in carbon emissions for 2030 compared to the 2018 figure, far lower than the 2030 NDC target of 40 percent.
At 82 percent, most of the respondents stressed that the feasibility of the current carbon-neutral scenario should be reviewed.
As for the problems with the 2030 NDC target, 38 percent picked a lack of consideration of current carbon reduction technology, followed by a lack of efforts to collect opinions from industry players (29 percent) and a lack of consideration of the structure of domestic industries (16 percent).
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
