Greenhouse gas emission cut plan feared to hurt GDP growth: report

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's planned reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions by 30 percent of business-as-usual (BAU) by 2020 could cause the
country's per-capita GDP to fall if implemented, a government report said
Thursday.

The joint report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Seoul National University
and the Korea Productivity Center forecast the national economy could grow an
average 3.66 percent annually from 2005 through 2020.
It, however, said that if the country moves to stem greenhouse gas emissions in
accordance with the plan outlined by the Presidential Committee on Green Growth,
the economy is expected to contract 0.41 percentage point to 3.25 percent in the
cited period.
"The prediction is based on the country making cuts without implementing
eco-friendly, green growth policies," a ministry official said. He said that
depending on what actions are taken, however, South Korea's economy could
actually benefit from the reduction plan.
Seoul said that pushing forward "green growth" policies such as strengthening the
country's renewable energy sector and developing more power efficient products
are vital to the generation of new business opportunities and jobs.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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