EU Officially Launches EU Version of IRA Through Green Deal
Renewable Energy as Industrial Competitiveness
Opposition Party Focuses on Renewable Energy Development with Korean Version of IRA
[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Joon-yi] Kim Seong-hwan, Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on the 2nd, "We will promptly legislate the 'Korean version of the IRA' law."
Chairman Kim mentioned this during the Democratic Party Policy Coordination Committee meeting held at the National Assembly, saying, "The intention is to leverage Korea's characteristics as an export-driven country while focusing on fostering the domestic renewable energy and Green New Deal industries."
He introduced the fact that the European Union is also promoting an IRA following the United States. Chairman Kim said, "Yesterday, the European Union (EU) announced a draft of the Green Deal industrial plan," adding, "It is a declaration to implement a so-called 'European version of the IRA' in response to the US IRA." He explained, "The main point of the Green Deal is to significantly ease regulations and provide large-scale incentives if solar power, wind power, clean hydrogen, etc., are produced within the EU, similar to the US," and added, "If these two laws are legislated, benefits will only be given to production activities within the EU, so as an export-oriented country, Korea will inevitably suffer huge damage in Europe just as it did in US electric vehicle exports."
Chairman Kim stated, "Currently, the world is expanding new protectionism in response to the climate crisis and to expand domestic industrial jobs, and the competition for green technology supremacy is intensifying," and said, "Global companies such as Apple, which have joined RE100, are demanding that their supply chain companies deliver only products produced with renewable energy."
Concerns were also raised about the current government emphasizing nuclear power, contrary to the trends of major advanced countries. He said, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is only talking about nuclear power, going in the exact opposite direction of the global trend," and added, "For reference, nuclear power is a very dangerous energy source and is not classified as renewable energy." He warned, "If this continues for a few more years, everyone will die, just like the line from the drama Squid Game." He emphasized, "Now, renewable energy is the core of industrial competitiveness," and said, "The current heating and electricity bill shocks can ultimately be solved by converting natural energy from sunlight into renewable energy through wind and solar power."
Regarding the Korean version of the IRA law, Chairman Kim said, "Based on this law, we will rapidly increase domestic renewable energy, which ranks last among OECD countries," and requested, "I ask the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and the People Power Party to properly understand the trends of the times and actively cooperate in legislating the 'Korean version of the IRA'." He added, "If we do not change now, everyone will die."
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