SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – South Korea is pledging to reduce its reliance on coal power as part of its pledge to reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change, but that ambition runs counter to the Trump administration’s push for more U.S. natural gas exports.
At recent United Nations climate talks, South Korea’s new Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment announced plans to retire most of the country’s coal-fired power plants by 2040 and to at least halve its carbon emissions by 2035.
Experts say this shows that South Korea, a major importer of coal with one of the world’s largest fleets of coal plants, must speed up its transition to renewable energy, lagging behind its neighbors and global averages.
But as part of trade deals with President Donald Trump, Seoul is increasing imports of US liquefied natural gas, or LNG. Climate activists claim such plans could conflict with the country’s pledges to help curb climate change and could lock South Korea into a future dependent on fossil fuels.
Talks are underway for South Korea to invest $350 billion in US projects and buy up to $100 billion of US energy products, including LNG, natural gas cooled to liquid form for easy storage and travel. It burns cleaner than coal, but still causes planet-warming emissions, especially methane.
South Korea’s overall LNG imports may not increase if it offsets purchases of more US natural gas by reducing imports from other sources such as Australia and the Middle East.
Still, it’s unclear how South Korea will “manage and consolidate all of this somewhat contradictory planning in relation to its energy sector,” said Michelle Kim, an energy specialist for the US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.
The energy transition raises climate targets
South Korea’s liberal President Lee Jae Myung, who won a primary election in June, has campaigned for stronger climate commitments. They were softened under his conservative predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted after a short-lived declaration of martial law.
“As the global temperature rises, we all need to take climate action responsibly and Korea will have a stronger sense of responsibility in addressing the climate crisis,” said Kim Sung-hwan, the inaugural Minister of Climate, Energy and Environment, in an interview with The Associated Press.
South Korea’s goal of cutting carbon emissions from 53% to 61% of its 2018 level fell short of climate activists’ expectations. Business lobbies representing major manufacturers had proposed a 48% emissions reduction target.
“This range represents an effort by the government to accommodate two very different ways of thinking about the nation’s economic and climate future,” said Joojin Kim of the Seoul-based advocacy group Solutions for Our Climate.
South Korea faces a climatic dilemma over the US deal
The South Korean government has made the ambitious commitment to increase its use of clean energy even after Trump’s big ‘America First’ tariffs spurred energy negotiations between Seoul and Washington.
As part of its broader efforts to avoid higher tariffs, South Korea has offered to import more LNG from the United States, but the final trade deal has not been announced.
The deal still being negotiated could last between three and 10 years, according to an industry analysis and US federal documents. Depending on the length of the agreement, South Korea can import between 3 million and 9 million tons of US LNG per year.
LNG made up nearly a fifth of South Korea’s total energy supply last year, according to the International Energy Agency, or IEA. The government’s target was to reduce this to 10.6% by 2038.
South Korea risks its climate goals if the pending trade agreement increases the total volume of LNG imported, which is likely to lead to an issue of oversupply and the excess burning of gas to justify the agreement, said Insung Lee, with Greenpeace in Seoul.
“If we only replace coal plants with LNG, it means that coal phase-out does not actually lead to a green transition and simply changes Korea’s addiction from coal to gas, which undermines the whole spirit of climate action,” Lee said.
South Korea’s energy mix
Renewable energy generated 7% of South Korea’s domestic power in 2022, according to the IEA. South Korean government data show it had risen to 10.5% last year, still one of the lowest levels among major economies.
Japan, with an economy twice as large, generates 21% of its energy from renewable sources. Spain, whose economy is about the same size as South Korea, gets 42% of its energy from renewable sources.
Clean energy provided around 30% of global electricity production in 2023.
Nuclear power produces a large share of South Korea’s domestic power, with government data showing that nuclear sources accounted for 31% of total electricity generation last year.
“We will transition to a new energy system that focuses on renewable and nuclear energies, while phasing out coal,” said Kim, the energy minister. He said that South Korea will use LNG as a “complementary or emergency energy source” to make up for irregularities in renewable energy supplies.
In early December, South Korea set another target to boost its offshore wind power capacity to 4 gigawatts, about 10 times the current level.
South Korean companies that do not reduce carbon emissions may find this to be a competitive disadvantage, said IEEFA’s Michelle Kim.
Many global industries, including shipping and aviation, face pressure to reduce their emissions by providing incentives for low emitters and creating deterrents for high ones, she said.
“This is a lot of risk,” she said. “South Korea needs to accelerate the use of renewable energy and get out of high dependence on the fossil fuel industry.”
Coal trade belts to decline in South Korea
At last month’s climate talks, South Korea joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a group of businesses, organizations and governments promoting the green energy transition.
That’s mainly a symbolic move, said Bruce Douglas, with the Global Renewables Alliance. “But this means a very clear intention of the government to move away from fossil fuels and towards clean energy.”
South Korea imports virtually all of its coal, mostly from Australia, Indonesia and Russia, and the shift to renewable energy is bound to impact regional markets.
The pledge to retire 40 of South Korea’s 61 coal sites by 2040 could be an “enforced transition” for coal exporters in the Asia-Pacific region, said James Bowen, with Climate Analytics. “It is a reality that they will have to face this decline in the market.”
“The writing is on the wall,” Bowen said. “One of the biggest importers in the world, one of the biggest customers, is starting to move away from coal.”
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