[Public Voices] Climate Change Response: A New Opportunity for Korea-India Cooperation

[Asia Economy]

President Yoon Suk-yeol's independently announced Indo-Pacific strategy last November aims to strengthen the external role to ensure that a rules-based order aligned with our national interests is reinforced in the Indo-Pacific region, and to expand cooperation with countries like India that share our interests. It also seeks to increase international contributions to solving global issues such as climate change. From the perspective of the Indo-Pacific strategy, strengthening the strategic partnership with India is essential, and climate change is a promising area for cooperation with India.

The potential for strategic cooperation with India in the field of climate change response is very large. Although India's per capita carbon dioxide emissions are only a small fraction compared to major emitters worldwide, India is often criticized as a "climate villain." However, ironically, despite the urgent need for economic development, it is not well known that India has made active efforts to address climate change, such as expanding renewable energy and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, more so than China or Western advanced countries.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced at last year's United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) that India will increase renewable energy capacity to 500GW by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2070. In August, India also submitted a revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC emphasizing renewable energy generation and consumption. Above all, as the chair country of the Group of Twenty (G20) in 2023, India is striving to overcome the energy crisis by establishing a core energy policy focused on expanding renewable energy. India established the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in the early 1990s. Through this ministry, India has been strengthening renewable energy-related systems, attracting investment, providing financial support, and leading international memberships such as the International Solar Alliance, accelerating the expansion of renewable energy. Recently, India designated Modhera village in Gujarat state as the first solar-powered self-sufficient village.

India, which has set energy self-sufficiency centered on expanding renewable energy as a major national security task, can be an important partner for Korea in solving energy issues. Korea's overseas energy dependence was about 93% as of 2021, which is very high. The instability and uncertainty in the global energy market are fatal to Korea's energy security. Among OECD countries, Korea has the lowest share of renewable energy generation. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA)'s report on the share of renewable energy generation by country in 2020, Korea ranked 37th out of 37 OECD countries with 5.8%, placing it at the bottom. Due to various constraints arising from Korea's environmental conditions, it is difficult to significantly increase renewable energy production in the short term. However, from a long-term perspective, expanding renewable energy is one of the promising alternatives to reduce dependence on overseas fossil fuels. Renewable energy is a sustainable solution to energy security issues. This is an important reason to actively promote expanded cooperation with India in the renewable energy sector.

2023 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and India. Both countries, as G20 members, should take this opportunity to move toward building a partnership. Beyond the two countries, Asia should advance toward decarbonization by enhancing exchanges with India in various sectors based on climate diplomacy. It is necessary to actively pursue cooperation with India in the field of climate change, including exploring policy coordination measures in renewable energy and benchmarking India's renewable energy policies.

Choi Won-ki, Professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy