S. Korea world's 9th-largest CO2 emitter: report

SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- South Korea ranked ninth worldwide in terms of carbon
dioxide (CO2) gas released into the atmosphere in 2007, a government report said
Monday.

The report citing findings by the International Energy Agency (IEA) that showed
the country's ranking unchanged from 2006 and standing in sixth place among
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) members, the
Ministry of Knowledge Economy said.
China ranked at the top of the list, followed by the United States, Russia, India
and Japan. Germany, Canada and Britain came in sixth to eighth places
respectively in the latest report.
CO2 along with methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbon
and perfluorocarbons are classified as greenhouse gases that have contributed to
worldwide climate change.
The ministry said that in terms of per capita CO2 output, the country's ranking
stood at 23rd place with 10.1 tons, up two notches from the year before. It,
however, said South Korea's CO2 emission grew 113 percent from 1990 through 2007,
which is the sharpest hike reached among the 30-member-strong OECD.
The IEA, meanwhile, proposed a long-term, sustainable CO2 limit of 450 parts per
million for countries and called on the global community to come up with a viable
plan to meet this target from 2013.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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