The climate and energy crises have dominated global headlines in 2022. As confirmed by world leaders at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, transitioning our economies away from fossil fuels and mobilising green investments is key to both alleviating the climate crisis and helping economies regain their energy sovereignty.
To this end, many countries worldwide have committed to becoming carbon neutral by the middle of the century or shortly thereafter. Furthermore, many countries have seen the emergence of Green New Deal narratives that seek to reconcile environmental and climate policies with economic growth in the aftermath of the economic crises triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The European Union presented its Green Deal in December 2019, followed by South Korea’s Green New Deal in July 2020. The U.S. is also planning massive public expenditure via a 10-year green transition investment program through the Inflation Reduction Law enacted in August 2022.
This report, supported by the Korea Foundation, provides an in-depth description, comparative assessment, and qualitative evaluation of the EU Green Deal and the Korean Green New Deal. It also provides policy proposals for reinvigorating the Korean Green New Deal based on lessons learnt
from Europe.
We hope that this report will be useful not only for South Korea, which committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, but also for policymakers in other countries that are contemplating green strategies.
