South Korea, having sworn to lead the green transition, is holding it up
The country has given its polluting industries even longer to cut their emissions
Addressing the UN‘s annual climate summit in 2009, South Korea’s then-president promised his country would be “an early mover when it comes to tackling climate change”. Lee Myung-bak pledged that South Korea would allocate the equivalent of 2% of GDP per year to the fight over the next five years and host an inter-governmental initiative, the Global Green Growth Institute, outside Seoul. “Instead of saying you first’,” said Mr Lee, the former head of Hyundai Construction, South Korea would henceforth act “me first”.
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This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “Greenwashing in Seoul”
Asia June 24th 2023
From the June 24th 2023 edition
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