[세종=뉴스핌] Reporter Yang Ka-hee = According to Climate Solutions, a climate change civic group, Korea was ranked first in ‘Today’s Fossil Awards’ by global civil society in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) is being held on the 18th (local time). received.
The ‘Fossil of the Day Award’ is an award given during the COP period by the ‘Climate Action Network’, a coalition of over 2,000 climate and environmental movement groups in 150 countries around the world, and is a disgrace given to countries that have delayed climate negotiations. Korea ranked third last year and was included in the list of award-winning countries for the first time.
Climate Action Network activist Kevin Buckland, who hosted the awards ceremony, said, “Of the 37 countries currently negotiating with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris, 30 have already joined in restricting fossil fuel finance, but today’s winner (South Korea) “The (Korean) government document leaked in September revealed how the (Korean) government is adopting an unconstructive negotiation strategy,” he criticized.
The Korean government document mentioned by the Burkeland activist was not a document leaked as a response received from the office of Rep. Kim Kyo-heung of the Democratic Party of Korea to an inquiry from the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation. The content is that Korea does not cooperate and opposes the fossil fuel investment restrictions proposed at the OECD meeting, but the international community criticizes Korea’s concerns about energy security and industrial competitiveness as vague and unfounded.
“With deadly floods, storms and heat waves increasing around the world, now is not the time to use public finance to prop up the fossil fuel industry,” Burkeland said. “Wouldn’t BTS, Samsung or Korean BBQ make Korea a trendsetter? “I don’t know, but when it comes to fossil fuel finance, Korea is still stuck in the past,” he said, explaining the reason for his selection as number one.
The OECD negotiations mentioned by Burkeland refer to a proposal to ban public financial support for fossil fuels in general. This corresponds to the main negotiation agenda of the OECD regular meeting held on the 18th (local time) in Paris, France.
Restrictions on fossil fuel financing by public finance were also discussed at the regular meeting of participating countries in the OECD Export Credit Agreement held in June. The OECD Export Credit Agreement is a non-legally binding gentleman’s agreement, so major decisions such as amendments to the agreement require the consent of all participating countries. According to a Bloomberg report at the time, most of the countries participating in the agreement supported it, but Korea and Turkiye opposed it.
Currently, the OECD Export Credit Agreement prohibits public finance from supporting the construction of new coal-fired power plants. The international community seeks to expand the ban to include fossil fuel energy in general. If the agreement is revised, in addition to the construction of new coal power plants, it will be difficult for companies involved in the fossil fuel industry, such as coal, oil, and gas mining and production, transportation, refining, and power generation, to receive public financial support.
As of 2020 to 2022, Korea is providing the second largest amount of public finance in the world after Canada to new fossil fuel projects. In particular, despite the declaration of carbon neutrality at the end of 2020, overseas fossil fuel investment actually increased. Last month, through a government audit, it was revealed that the Export-Import Bank’s investment in new overseas fossil fuel projects increased by about 40% from 14.3218 trillion won in 2017 to 2020 to 20.3537 trillion won in 2021 to 2024.
Flavie Mahalin, an activist at the climate group Stop Total, said, “We are deeply concerned that the Export-Import Bank of Korea promised massive financial support for the Mozambique liquefied gas (LNG) project led by French oil company Total Energies. “I participated in the action to express this,” he said. “The project has the potential to emit enormous amounts of greenhouse gases, with lifetime emissions exceeding the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of the entire European Union (EU) countries, and will force local residents to relocate.” “It is a business with many problems,” he pointed out. He continued, “We strongly urge the Korean government to immediately withdraw from this project and no longer provide public finance to fossil fuel projects.”
Korean civil society, including Greenpeace, Climate Solutions, Korea Socially Responsible Investment Forum, and the Korean Federation for Environmental Movement, held the 5th Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-5) meeting of the UN Plastic Convention on the 19th to discuss restrictions on the use of plastics made by processing fossil fuels. Ahead of the event, they gathered in front of the Export-Import Bank of Korea in Yeouido, Seoul, urging the government to immediately restrict fossil fuel financing.
Bae Seol-gi, an activist in the Energy and Climate Team of the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, said, “Globally, the scale of new investment in renewable energy compared to fossil fuels increased 1.7 times between 2020 and 2022, so investment in renewable energy is the most common trend, and in particular, the suspension of public financing is a climate change. “This is a decision that the government responsible for carbon emissions and control must make in today’s world, when the sense of crisis of disaster is heightened as never before,” he said. “As a member of the carbon economy, Korea must actively participate in efforts to reduce carbon emissions in cooperation with the international community.” “I do,” he said.
Hong Young-rak, a researcher at Climate Solutions, said, “Decreasing demand for gas and phasing out fossil fuels are a predetermined reality and an international trend.” He added, “Except for Korea, other countries are restricting new fossil fuel financing to address the urgent task of green technology and industrial growth, and are restricting green technology and industry.” “We are turning to investment,” he emphasized. He went on to say, “This revision to the OECD Export Credit Agreement will be a stepping stone for the transformation of public finance not only in Korea but also around the world,” and urged, “Korea should actively support the agreement on the revision to the OECD Export Credit Agreement.”
What specific actions or strategies has South Korea implemented that contributed to its ranking as the ‘Fossil of the Day’ this year?
Thank you for considering world-today-news.com for this interview. We understand that the issue of climate change and South Korea’s ranking in the ‘Fossil of the Day Award’ by the Climate Action Network is a pressing matter. To gain further insights, we would like to invite two guests for the interview.
Guest 1: Kevin Buckland, Activist at Climate Action Network
Guest 2: Flavie Mahalin, Activist at Stop Total
World-today-news.com: Thank you for joining us today. Could you please tell us more about the ‘Fossil of the Day Award’ and how South Korea stands out in this year’s list of award-winning countries?
Guest 1: The ‘Fossil of the Day Award’ is given during the COP period by the Climate Action Network, a coalition of over 2,000 climate and environmental movement groups from 150 countries worldwide. It is an award given to countries that have delayed climate negotiations or taken actions counterproductive to climate action. South Korea has been ranked third last year and this time, it has been ranked number one due to its unconstructive negotiation strategy regarding the ban on public finance for fossil fuels proposed at the OECD meeting.
Guest 2: Yes, the award recognizes the countries that hinder global efforts to address the climate crisis. In this case, Korea is being criticized for its opposition to a proposed OECD ban on public finance for fossil fuels, which would help limit the expansion of the industry and accelerate the transition to renewable energy.
World-today-news.com: How does one become eligible for this award? What criteria are considered when selecting countries for the ‘Fossil of the Day Award’?
Guest 1: Countries are selected based on their actions or inactions that are seen as the most harmful to the global effort to address climate change. These actions or inactions can be either through domestic policies or international negotiations. In South Korea’s case, it’s their opposition to the proposed ban on public finance for fossil fuels at the OECD meeting.
Guest 2: Yes, the OECD negotiations specifically refer to a proposal to ban public financial support for fossil fuels
