Commuters struggle to hold onto their umbrellas in central Seoul on Sept. 3, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — More South Koreans have realized the significance of climate change following the coronavirus outbreak and a record-breaking summer monsoon season, a local civic group said Thursday.
Green Korea United conducted a survey of 1,500 South Koreans between the ages of 14 and 69, 95.8 percent of whom realized the significance of climate change following the coronavirus outbreak and the summer’s torrential rains.
At 97.7 percent, a vast majority of the respondents felt that climate change was serious, picking ‘rainstorms’, ‘coronavirus’, and ‘heat waves’ as the primary reasons.
Roughly two thirds of the respondents agreed that the ‘coronavirus has something to do with climate change.’
One in three respondents didn’t think they were being provided with enough information on climate change.
Another 90.8 percent of the respondents said South Korea needs to impose stricter goals for 2030 when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions., while 90.7 percent said South Korea needs to replace coal with renewable energy by 2030, and 90.6 percent said the country needs to achieve zero emission by 2050.
Among respondents, 87 percent agreed that South Korea needs to support businesses in the coronavirus era in a way that also helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while 81.6 percent agreed that additional coal power plants currently under construction should be stopped immediately.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
