U.S. to help set up S. Korean carbon exchange: gov't

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States agreed to work
together to set up a local carbon exchange market that can help Seoul meet global
efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the government said Tuesday.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the memorandum of understanding (MOU)
calls for the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) to provide input on how to develop a
viable mechanism to check and confirm release of greenhouse gases across the
board, and ways to train qualified personnel and exchange data created.
The Chicago-based exchange, in addition, is to provide information on how to
calculate gases released by individual companies who can sell such cuts on the
exchange market, or buy rights to release more greenhouse gases if they have not
been able to reduce total output.
Such an exchange system can provide monetary incentives for all companies to
reduce emission levels for such gases as carbon dioxide, methane, sulphur
hexafluoride and nitrous oxide that have been cited for causing global warming.
CCX, established in Dec. 2003 by Richard Sandor, currently obliges companies that
have voluntarily joined the program to cut greenhouse gases to certain levels in
an effort to contribute to environmental protection. At present state-run Korea
Southern Power Co. is listed on the exchange.
The United States is not a member of the Kyoto Protocol that was adopted in late
1997, and which is an extension of the international Framework Convention on
Climate Change that went into effect on Feb. 16, 2005. Of its over 180
signatories, Japan and 36 countries from the European Union are Annex 1 countries
that have pledged to cut greenhouse gases, while South Korea is a signatory,
although not currently required to cut back on greenhouse gases. The country may
be compelled to join the regime as a full-fledged member after 2013.
The ministry in charge of the country's industrial and energy policies,
meanwhile, said the MOU signed between CCX and Korea Power Exchange, Korea Energy
Management Corp., and Korea Exchange could help local agencies gain valuable
experience on how to deal with the process of buying and selling of greenhouse
gases.
Such knowhow could help Seoul join a global exchange market that can be set up as
countries around the world take steps to reduce gas emissions.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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