Power Engineering. (2020, October 20). South Korea’s KEPCO cancels foreign coal power investment. Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.power-eng.com/2020/10/20/south-koreas-kepco-cancels-foreign-coal-power-investment/ (Links to an external site.)
South Korea’s primarily state-owned power corporation, KEPCO, has decided to cancel or convert two planned coal power plants to natural gas energy production. The news comes after South Korea has adopted very progressive action to stop climate change and transition to net-zero emissions. It has been hailed as a major win by climate activists. The two plants were set to be built in South Africa and the Philipines where they both faced local opposition. KEPCO still plans to develop two coal power plants in Indonesia and Vietnam and continues to face opposition from environmental groups.
It is heartening to see that organized opposition has prevented the building of more coal power plants that continue to contribute to climate change. Perhaps more exciting is that the Korean government has taken steps to make climate change and climate justice central in their policy. It indicates a trend in government priorities to combat climate change and away from deregulation in an attempt to increase short term growth in Korea, but on the international stage more broadly. The consideration of climate change and environmental science in crafting public policy and encouraging development is long overdue, but welcome nonetheless. I believe Korea and the greater world will benefit in the long run from the focus on environmental science. It is especially beneficial to the countries that would be hosting the power plants as they would’ve had to face the direct environmental consequences of the plants as well as the increased air pollution and global warming that affect the international community more broadly, while simultaneously not receiving nearly as much economic benefit as the owners of the facilities in South Korea.
This is super cool, there is a lot of work in protecting our planet from all economically situated places. The care some people or groups have for our planet is very inspiring and should get more funding. This was really cool to read and an interesting article.
I think this is a giant step in the right direction given that they’re air quality is horrible and anything they do to shift towards environmentally friendly fuel is good.
I am surprised how people’s oppositions are able to lead to change government’s policy, and make coal power plants to natural gas. It has proved that the our voices definitely matters. However, I would argue that the natural gas could be the better solution, since the recent studies shows that during the process of producing energy from natural gas, some of methane leaks out and causes huge environmental impact.
It is nice to hear that sustained public pressure can force countries and companies from exploiting the vulnerable for power or economic gain while not sharing the benefits of the exploitation. This development will surely help the health of nearby residents. Natural gas is certainly better than the current power generation, but no solution can fully solve the issue.