The recent revelation that key safety parts did not pass quality tests but were installed in several nuclear reactors shook Korea’s energy industry. Some politicians, scholars and environmentalists, albeit a minority, began questioning if Korea should stay as dependent on nuclear energy as it is now. Amid severe shortages of electricity and doubts over nuclear power, the need for energy efficiency and renewable energy is likely to emerge as a subject of public interest once again.
The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), an international organization promoting sustainable economic development, held a summit in Songdo, Incheon, in early June. The summit focused on the practical side of green growth including policy, innovations and finance. In many countries, renewable energy sources are cheaper solutions than fossil fuel options, but investment from both the public and private sectors is far from adequate. The Korea Times’ Business Focus interviewed the world’s leading experts about the financial barriers facing green industries in an attempt to draw more investments, especially from the private sector. The interviewees are: Bloomberg New Energy Finance Chief Executive Officer Michael Liebreich; Dominic Waughray, head of environmental initiatives at World Economic Forum; Vikram Widge, head of climate finance and policy at International Finance Corporation and Mark Halle, vice president of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. The experts suggested that public money should be used as leverage to make investments less risky for the private sector and attract more private money. Furthermore, subsidies for fossil fuel should be removed so that renewables can compete in the same market.. The interviews were conducted individually and compiled. The questions and answers were edited. Full article from the Korea Times here
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