This photo taken Sept. 9, 2022, shows a wide view of POSCO’s integrated steel mill in Pohang, 272 kilometers southeast of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean steel giant POSCO emitted the largest amount of greenhouse gases among local companies over the past five years, accounting for about 10 percent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions, data showed Sunday.
According to data that Rep. Lim Lee-ja of the ruling People Power Party received from the Ministry of Environment, POSCO was the top greenhouse gas emitter among local companies for the period between 2017 and 2021.
The steelmaker produced 75.8 million tons of greenhouse gases per year on average during the past five years.
In 2021, it emitted 78.5 million tons of greenhouse gases, a volume equivalent to 11.6 percent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions of 679.6 million tons, according to projected data.
Following POSCO were Hyundai Steel Co. at 28.5 million tons, Samsung Electronics Co. at 14.5 million tons, Ssangyong C&E Co. at 10.6 million tons and S-Oil Corp. at 9.8 million tons.
The combined greenhouse gas emissions of the top 20 companies accounted for 33.8 percent of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions last year.
The share of the top 20 companies in the nation’s overall greenhouse gas emissions has been on an upward trend, rising from 29 percent in 2017 to 29.6 percent in 2018, 31 percent in 2019 and 32.2 percent in 2020.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
