Toward Net-zero: Assessing Regional Carbon Policy Capacity in Korea

In Korea, the push to achieve carbon neutrality and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 constitutes a monumental paradigm shift, and efforts to facilitate this momentous change are poised to exert a significant impact on the economy, industry, and society as a whole. Realizing Korea’s national carbon neutrality vision requires wholesale changes to the economy, industry, and even the daily lives of everyday people. And in the pursuit of net-zero, these changes will not be limited to specific sectors or technologies, and are likely to develop and evolve in diverse ways. Converting the existing carbon-intensive industrial structure to a low-carbon or zero-carbon economy will necessitate major innovations across multiple sectors, given the role, scope, and influence of energy — the principal source of carbon emissions — in production and consumption. Korea’s 2050 national carbon neutral strategy designates the “region” as the primary geographic and administrative unit in which carbon neutrality measures are to be implemented and net-zero ultimately realized. The Korean government has emphasized the importance of regional areas in promoting carbon neutrality, stating that “regions are spaces where economic, social, and life changes take place, and local governments are the actual implementers of carbon neutral policies by sector.” To aid in evaluating the ability of any given region to competently implement net-zero policies, for this study we design and build a new indicator, the Carbon-neutral Policy Capacity Index (CPCI). This tool is designed to be used in evaluating regional carbon neutrality policy implementation capacity.