Net zero targets
Summary
We evaluate the net zero target as: Average.
The South Korean government included its commitment of carbon neutrality by 2050 in its updated NDC and Long-Term Strategy (LTS) (Republic of Korea, 2020, 2021b). The carbon neutrality target is enshrined in law through the Carbon Neutrality Act, which was passed in August 2021 (Ministry of Environment, 2021) and enforced in March 2022 (Ministry of Environment, 2022b).
In October 2021, South Korea published two draft pathways to net zero emissions in 2050 – the 2050 carbon neutrality scenarios (Republic of Korea, 2021c). Improving on the LTS, the 2050 pathways explicitly state that the net zero target does not include overseas reductions. However, South Korea is still not explicit in its coverage of GHGs, and the target review process lacks detail.
The two scenarios phase out coal before 2050, although the exact phase-out year remains unclear. One of the scenarios also phases out natural gas. The other one allows for some natural gas, and has a higher amount of CCUS in turn to compensate the emissions. Both scenarios assume a sink of about 25 MtCO2e from forestry in 2050.
South Korea has progressed the legal implementation of the carbon neutrality target, and the CAT now evaluates the “comprehensive planning” as a given. Nevertheless, the government still has not made the emissions coverage explicit, a prerequisite for an overall evaluation of “acceptable”.
CAT analysis of net zero target
Good practice
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