The country’s new energy policy roadmap, proposed in April, was approved at the Cabinet meeting, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy. South Korea’s energy guidelines are renewed every five years with a 20-year goal.

The proposal is in line with the Moon Jae-in government’s push to phase out coal and nuclear plants and instead move toward clean and safe energy sources to meet the country’s demand for electricity.

“The government plans to gradually decrease the number of nuclear and coal plants to have a clean and safe portfolio of energy,” the ministry said in a statement.

Under the proposal, renewable energy sources, such as sunlight and wind, will account for up to 35% of the country’s electricity output in 2040, sharply up from around 6% of the country’s energy portfolio in 2017.

The country will refrain from building new energy plants running on conventional sources. Some existing coal plants will be renovated to run on more clean resources, such as LNG, according to the energy plan.

“We have decided to increase the share of renewable power to between 30% and 35% by 2040 to move toward cleaner and safer energy based on an advisory group’s recommendation,” Park Jae-young, director of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, told a public hearing in Seoul.  The role of coal power is expected to be cut further, while gas power generation will be expanded, Park added.

The government’s new energy policy is a welcome change away from the country’s dependence on coal and nuclear power.

We commend the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for its bold new energy plan to significantly increase South Korea’s use of renewable energy. We urge the Ministry to take the next step and commit to making South Korea carbon neutral by 2050.

Send Action Alert Message to:

Park Jae-young, Director, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, motiefmso@gmail.com