(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on May 15) - Green technologies

The action plan for achieving low-carbon, green growth laid out by the Presidential Committee for Green Growth is a step in the right direction. As countries around the world race to invest in the development of environment-friendly technologies and industries as the next growth engine, Korea should not lose any more time in getting started.

The government plans to invest a total 12.6 trillion won ($10 billion) in green
technology through 2013. Some 8.4 trillion won will be earmarked for the
development of 27 green technologies through 2012. The green technology sector
aims to generate $150 billion in domestic sales and exports by 2012 and $410
billion by 2020. In 2007, the country's sales of green products and services
stood at just $43 billion. The development of green technologies is expected to
create 481,000 jobs by 2012 and 1.18 million jobs by 2020. This development is
also projected to cut 130 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
The green IT projects, into which the government will invest 4.2 trillion won by
2013, are expected to generate 7.5 trillion won in production, create 52,000 jobs
and reduce carbon emissions by 1.8 million tons by the year 2013.
The latest green plan announced by the government included details, such as which
technologies would receive its focused attention. It is in green technology that
there is great potential for growth. The development of new silicon-based solar
cells, LPG hybrid vehicles, high-efficiency light-emitting diodes and advanced
electricity metering system will be heavily promoted. Mid-term investments
include the development of fuel cells, electric cars and rechargeable batteries
while the development of non-silicon solar cells and bio-energy have been marked
for long-term investments.
Since President Lee Myung-bak announced green growth as the national vision last
August, the word "green" has been used to promote virtually everything.
Government ministries poured out "green initiatives" in an apparent bid to outdo
each other. Local governments have also been keen to use the word "green" for any
number of their projects.
The so-called "Green New Deal" announced in January fell short of people's
expectations for a detailed plan that would promote green growth and put the
country ahead of its many competitors in the area of green technology. Some 1.8
trillion won of the 5 trillion won-deal would go to cleaning up the country's
four major rivers. A nationwide network of bicycle paths hardly qualifies as a
green deal - yes, it may make bicycles more convenient as a form of
transportation and contributes toward reducing carbon emissions, but it is
essentially a construction project that hardly merits the term "Green New Deal."
So it was a relief to see the government this week put forth a concrete plan for
the development of green technologies. The government should take the lead in the
development of future technologies for which businesses can find no immediate
financial incentive. Yet, the government should check to see that there are no
redundancies when it gives out money for the various projects. It should also
make sure that the green technologies that receive funding are really green
technologies, and not just aims with the word "green" tagged on.
The word "green" has been overused lately. It is time to examine what projects
are really green and what are just green in name only. The government can help in
this effort by not using "green" as a prefix for everything.
(END)