Participants in a roundtable on the global diffusion of carbon-free energy initiatives on Dec. 5 pose for photos in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on the sidelines of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, aka COP28. (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy)
By Charles Audouin
The government has proposed the global spread of carbon-free energy (CFE) initiatives at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), an event that discusses response to climate change.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Dec. 6 said it hosted the day before in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, a roundtable on the global expansion of CFE led by the Carbon Free (CF) Alliance on the sidelines of COP28.
Attendees included key figures from participating governments and corporate sectors including Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Co-chairperson Kim Sang-hyup and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Secretary Abdalah Mokssit. The topic of the talks was widening the use of CFE with representatives from 30 companies such as Samsung Electronics, POSCO, Nippon Steel and the Electric Power Research Institute of the U.S.
Manufacturers with massive power requirements presented their opinions on the need for CFE and expanding such resources from the demand perspective, while power generation companies discussed both topics from the supplier’s point of view. They also covered cooperation in stimulating the use of carbon-free fuel and raw materials in industrial processes with companies emitting high volumes of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Participating companies also said that if the modes of implementing carbon neutrality expand to not only renewable energy but to all CFE sources like hydrogen and nuclear energy, it will considerably help related efforts to reduce GHG. They also urged the prompt introduction of a system for recognizing the performance of CFE use.
“Now is the time for Korea to play a leading role befitting its global status in setting global norms such as a CFE certification system,” CF Alliance Chairman and special ambassador for CFE Lee Hoe-sung said in his opening speech. “We will encourage governments, international energy organizations and the private sector worldwide to take part in the CFE initiatives in searching for climate crisis solutions for achieving carbon neutrality on a global scale.”
caudouin@korea.kr
