I arrived in South Korea on March 18th and will be here until May 1st. I am here on behalf of the South Korean Environment Ministry to teach the new Greenhouse Gas (GHG) and Energy Target Scheme to the first GHG Verifiers in the Republic of South Korea. This is primarily of interest to our LA and Southern California readers because the Korean Scheme is based on combining the climate change rules and policies in the California Air Resources Board Global Warming Act of 2006 (also known as AB32) and the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme.
Why have I come so far from home to teach a lot of strangers a new regulation and in a language I cannot speak? Because this is the starting point for South Korea and in California we took the lead in the US five years ago. California's climate change program requires reporting and verification of GHG emissions for specific industries that emit GHGs above threshold values, and includes a proposed cap and trade rule which was set to take effect early next year - but is currently being held up by court proceedings that require additional review of alternatives to the cap and trade program. South Korea wanted to select a program that fundamentally addressed the issues of energy management and overall reduction in the emissions of GHG from almost all of its industries.
Having been here for several weeks I have had a chance to see many of the Korean heavy industrial areas which are uncannily tidy, and are working full force night and day. Hyundai Steel is a very large facility close to the Port of Incheon (about 45 minutes West of the capital, Seoul). The Port appears to be like the Port of Long Beach, bustling night and day, accepting cruise liners, tankers, tugs, yachts, and ships of all sizes. There is a refinery close to the Port and the construction of new commercial and residential property mimics the growth of Orange and Los Angeles counties at their peak.
South Koreans recylce just about everything they use. In the Research Institute where I teach for the next four weeks there are recycle bins on every floor in full view, there are no trash cans in any of the rooms, and in the cafe, all the food waste goes out for composting, paper is recycled, and water that is not consumed is taken out for use on the landscaping. The citizens here are used to looking for ways to recycle rather than waste. There are television commercials which, admittedly I cannot understand, but I can see the energy efficiency and CO2 reduction message in pictures. I am extremely pleased to have this opportunity to teach this very important aspect of the next stage in our human presence on this planet to a people who want to engage in our global community's well being. When I am asked by South Koreans where I come from, I am proud to say California because it is still - for now - the only place in the US that has incorporated the principles of GHG tracking and sustainability into its regulatory fabric and will be positioned to prosper in the coming years.
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