■ Renewable Energy Seminar
On August 5, KEI's Environmental Assessment Group held a seminar on renewable energy transition and sustainability. Dr. Chang Hoon Lee, Chief Research Fellow from the Division for Climate and Energy, introduced global trends in carbon neutrality including the net-zero scenarios in France and the Kingdom of Great Britain, and shared information on renewables worldwide as a key driver of the decarbonizing of the energy supply. For South Korea, a carbon neutral energy scenario was presented with intensive discussion on the possibilities and difficulties in deploying renewables.
.
Next, Dr. Jong-Yoon Park, Research Fellow from the Division for Resources and Energy Assessment, gave a presentation on the topic of 'Renewable Energy and Environmental Sustainability in the Context of RE3020.' RE3020, the Renewable Energy 3020 Implementation Plan in full, is an ambitious roadmap Korea had announced in 2017 with a goal of producing 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Pointing out 'zero-impact illusion', the false idea that renewable energy has no environmental impact and is always desirable, Dr. Park suggested that factors such as local acceptability, development suitability, and possible environmental impacts be considered and the government prioritize the projects in promoting renewable energy. Based on this idea, ways to better implement the plan were also presented.
■ The 1st Online Public Forum for Establishing the National Basic Plan for Water Management
On August 31, the 1st Online Public Forum for establishing the National Basic Plan for Water Management in Korea was held. The event, organized by the Ministry of Environment, was streamed online to encourage online participation in an effort to prevent further spread of COVID19. Dr. Haejin Han, Senior Research Fellow from the Division for Integrated Water Management, KEI, attended to give an overview on the current status of national water management in Korea and outlined the plan including its objective and significance. |
