Under the upgraded reduction target, an extra 51.4 million tons of gas emissions reductions rights are expected to be traded in the market from this year, the ministry said. (image: KobizMedia/ Korea Bizwire)
SEJONG, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will raise greenhouse gas emissions rights in the trading market for this year in a bid to meet its tightened reduction target, the finance ministry said Tuesday.
Under the revised 2017 emissions allocation plan endorsed by the Cabinet, some 538.9 million tons of emissions rights will be involved in the trading market, up 17 million tons from the country’s earlier goal of 521.9 million tons for the year, according to the Ministry of Strategy and Finance.
The revision came as South Korea is planning to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent from 2030 business-as-usual (BAU) levels, up from an earlier reduction plan of 30 percent by 2020.
Under the upgraded reduction target, an extra 51.4 million tons of gas emissions reductions rights are expected to be traded in the market from this year, the ministry said.
The country opened a greenhouse gas emissions trading system (ETS) in 2015, and some 600 local companies have been given their own Korean allowance units (KAUs) to buy extra emissions rights when they surpass their own quota.
Some 542.7 million tons were emitted by the companies in 2015, outnumbering the 539 million tons of KAUs allocated.
Slightly more than 1 million tons of KAUs were traded in the fourth quarter of last year, with the price reaching 16,000 won (US$13.8) per ton.
(Yonhap)
