South Korea’s No. 4 conglomerate LG Corp issued a plan to invest KRW3.4tr (USD2.7bn) by 2030 in decarbonization, a move to push forward its 2050 net-zero emission target, as reported by Korea Economic Daily on February 5. The fund will be used to develop clean energy technologies, such as blue hydrogen and green hydrogen, and to create timberland for carbon offset. The report also outlines concrete plans for carbon neutrality by LG’s seven major subsidiaries, which account for 99% of LG’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The group aims for full decarbonization of LG Electronics by 2030, while the targets for other affiliates were set at 2040 or 2050.

LG aims to cut its combined scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 27% by 2030 and 62% by 2040, compared to 2018 levels. LG’s decarbonization plan goes ahead of South Korea’s carbon neutrality goals. In August 2021, the country approved the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth, pledging to reduce GHG emissions by 35% by 2030 on 2018 levels and become carbon neutral by 2050. The efforts by the industrial sector, which consumes over half of South Korea’s electricity, are indispensable to meeting the country’s decarbonization target. As of September 2022, 23 South Korean firms have joined the RE100 initiative, a group of global corporations committed to using 100% renewable energy in the future.

https://www.kedglobal.com/esg/newsView/ked202302050002

https://www.energytrend.cn/news/20210910-98435.html

https://energytracker.asia/south-koreas-industrial-giants-respond-to-governments-net-zero-goals/

https://www.reuters.com/article/samsung-elec-climate-energy-idUSL4N30K0V6