[Journalist's Notebook] Will 'Green Tech' Be the Solution to Extreme Weather?

It's a summer that's hard to breathe. The average daily temperature in July in Seoul has reached an all-time high, and heatwave warnings have become routine. While the heat is a temporary seasonal phenomenon, the climate crisis has become a long-term challenge that can no longer be postponed. Along with this, carbon neutrality is becoming a keyword that changes the industrial structure and economic paradigm. The government has announced that it will invest 145 trillion won (as of June 2023) in a public-private partnership by 2030 to fully transition to 'Green Tech (Green Technology)'. Converting the inconvenience caused by extreme weather into numbers means that decarbonization innovation across energy sources, industrial processes, and consumption patterns is ahead of us.

The main actor in responding to the climate crisis is not only the government. The size of the industry dealing with carbon in the global market is rapidly growing. According to market research firm Roots Analysis, the carbon footprint management market is expected to grow from $11.6 billion in 2024 to $39.3 billion in 2035. The carbon credit market, where carbon credits are bought and sold, is also expected to reach $50 billion by 2030, with credit prices estimated to rise 3 to 5 times. In fact, companies are also accepting carbon reduction as an investment rather than a cost. The hydrogen reduction steelmaking process of POSCO and Hyundai Steel, and the cement industry's '2050 Carbon Neutral Strategy Plan' show this.

At the same time, the presence of startups is also growing. The battery recycling startup Aldisolutions has accelerated the commercialization of its technology by attracting investment from Kolon Industries last year. The smart waste management company Oysterable has installed IoT-based smart bins in over 180 locations nationwide, raising the recycling rate to 68%. In addition, areas such as AI-based energy management systems, blockchain carbon trading platforms, and satellite-sensor combined environmental monitoring are expanding. According to Innovation Forest, the size of the green tech industry is expected to reach a 68.7% share of the domestic renewable energy market by 2024. There is also a forecast of an average annual growth of 14.1% by 2030.

However, the challenges are clear. President Lee Jae-myung promised to establish a 'Climate Energy Department' focusing on responding to the climate crisis and energy transition, but recently, discussions have been sluggish, with plans to combine energy policies with the Ministry of Environment being mentioned. The institutional framework to advance the carbon neutrality clock is still loose, and there is a significant gap between legal and institutional improvements and investment execution. This contrasts with the dismantling of boundaries between industry and policy as extreme heatwaves become routine. If policy fails to keep pace with the speed of technology and startups, the potential of green tech may remain only in print. Now is the time for a clear roadmap and policy execution capabilities.


jimnn@fnnews.com