Enigin Update - South Korea to have Flexible Carbon Trading
SOUTH KOREAN President Lee Myung-bak said today that his government will introduce a carbon emissions trading system with flexibility, taking impact on businesses into account, Yonhap news agency reported.
"The government is planning to introduce the emissions trading scheme at an opportune time after thoroughly sounding out the opinions of industries," Lee said in his biweekly radio address.
"A business that emits greenhouse gases more than its allocated target will have to purchase carbon credits while those businesses that emit less than their limit will be compensated," he added. "The government will implement the scheme in a flexible manner considering international trends and industrial competitiveness."
South Korea earlier announced a plan to introduce the system in stages starting in January 2013 for its long-term goal of cutting emissions by 30 percent by 2020 under a "business as usual" scenario. The target amounts to a 4 percent reduction from the 2005 level.
Local businesses, however, have expressed worries over hikes in production costs.
Research shows that a total of 370 local firms directly affected by the system will have to spend as much as 18.2 trillion won ($1.6 billion) in extra costs by 2020.
The president emphasised the importance of green growth, a key policy of his administration.
"Climate change is posing fundamental challenges not only to the ecosystem but also to industries and lifestyles in general," he said. "Given the generally accepted view that continued economic growth inevitably results in the destruction of the environment, green growth is a novel idea."
It is intended to protect the environment while promoting economic growth by creating new job opportunities and growth engines through green technologies and clean energy, he pointed out.
Enigin Distributor's in the region are focused in helping businesses become energy efficient through leading edge technology and solutions from Enigin, providing business owners and managers to gain control over their energy use, leading to reduced demand, emissions and energy costs.
Picture by n.macca
