[Initial Moment] 'Mutanso' Has No Color

More than a decade ago, carbon was first assigned colors. Carbon absorbed by trees or forests is called green carbon, carbon absorbed by coastal ecosystems is called blue carbon, and carbon emitted from burning fossil fuels is called black carbon. This classification was made to support the argument that not all carbon is the same: black carbon should be reduced, while green and blue carbon should be protected. Today, these terms are officially used by the United Nations (UN).

This color-coding trend has recently extended to hydrogen as well. Hydrogen produced with carbon emissions is called gray hydrogen, and if the carbon is captured during production, it is called blue hydrogen. Hydrogen produced using renewable energy is green hydrogen, and hydrogen produced using nuclear power is pink hydrogen. There is also brown hydrogen produced using coal. By assigning colors to originally colorless hydrogen, it has become easier to distinguish production methods and carbon emission status at a glance.

The reason for suddenly bringing up colors is that observing the recently launched Carbon Free (CF) alliance made me realize how difficult it is to change perceptions once a color label is applied.

On the 27th, public and private sectors gathered to form the CF alliance. Along with the government, private companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK Hynix, and POSCO, as well as major domestic carbon-emitting companies like Korea Electric Power Corporation and Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, participated.

The CF alliance aims to promote the international standardization of CF100 (Carbon Free 100), which advocates for decarbonization by utilizing various carbon-free energy sources such as solar, wind, nuclear power, and hydrogen. This differs slightly from the global campaign RE100 (Renewable Energy 100), which calls for using only electricity produced from renewable energy. RE100 focuses on generating energy using solar, hydro, and wind power, whereas CF100 emphasizes using energy sources that emit no carbon during production. Nuclear power, in addition to renewable energy, is also a carbon-free energy source.

However, there is still a long way to go before CF100 becomes an international standard. The government plans to encourage global participation in the CF alliance by attending various international seminars and business roundtables during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in November and the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP28) in December.

Both RE100 and CF100 represent invisible trade barriers that are difficult for companies to overcome. However, from the perspective of Korean companies, RE100 poses a higher barrier than CF100.

Korea lacks favorable deserts for solar power generation. There are no rivers with fast flow rates or currents. The wind is also very mild, making wind power generation inefficient. On the other hand, Korea possesses world-class nuclear power generation capabilities.

Implementing CF100 is not easy either. Experts coldly assess that it is difficult to realize CF100, which requires using carbon-free power 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7), with current technology.

There remains controversy over whether nuclear power should be considered an eco-friendly energy source. It is difficult to provide an answer that satisfies everyone or to reach a consensus immediately. However, we cannot afford to remain idle indefinitely. The focus of the current question should be on what the most realistic carbon emission reduction technology is with our current technological capabilities.

Deng Xiaoping’s black cat, white cat theory?that it does not matter whether a cat is black or white as long as it catches mice?led China to reform and open up in the 1970s. If carbon emissions can be reduced, all available methods should be put on the table.

Last month, the Korea Meteorological Administration installed a climate crisis clock in Daejeon to raise awareness of the severity of climate change. If the global average temperature rises by 1.5℃, extreme weather events will surge. In just 5 years and 263 days (as of the 1st), the Earth's temperature will have risen by 1.5℃.