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🇰🇷 South Korea /Environment & Climate

South Korea Mandates 30% Greenhouse Gas Cut for Medium, Large Vehicles by 2030

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • South Korea's Ministry of Environment announced new guidelines to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, targeting a 30% cut for medium and large commercial vehicles by 2030.
  • The measures are part of the nation's 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to cut overall greenhouse gas emissions, with the transport sector needing to reduce emissions significantly.
  • Stricter standards will also be applied to small vehicles, and incentives for using renewable energy in domestic production will be piloted.

South Korea is tightening its automotive emissions standards to meet its national climate goals, with a significant focus on reducing greenhouse gases from medium and large commercial vehicles. The Ministry of Environment has announced new guidelines and official notices, setting a target for these larger vehicles to cut their emissions by 30% compared to 2022 levels by the year 2030.

Medium and large commercial vehicles must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 compared to 2022.

— Ministry of EnvironmentThis quote outlines the core target for commercial vehicles under the new regulations.

These new regulations are a key component of the country's 2030 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. The transport sector, in particular, faces pressure to reduce its emissions from 980 million tons in 2018 to 610 million tons by 2030. The phased approach for medium and large commercial vehicles will begin in 2027, starting with heavy-duty trucks and tractors over 15 tons, followed by medium and large buses in 2028, and finally smaller medium-duty trucks and dump trucks under 15 tons by 2030.

While the government has previously encouraged voluntary reductions, the new mandatory standards aim to ensure compliance, with penalties in the form of surcharges for non-compliant manufacturers. The urgency stems from the higher per-vehicle emissions of larger vehicles. However, the implementation is staggered to provide manufacturers with adequate preparation time.

The transport sector must reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 980 million tons in 2018 to 610 million tons by 2030.

— Ministry of EnvironmentThis quote provides the specific national target for the transport sector's emissions reduction as part of the NDC.

Beyond commercial vehicles, passenger cars and smaller vans (seating 10 or fewer) will see their emissions standards tightened from 70g/km to 54g/km by 2030. Smaller trucks and vans (seating 11-15) will face a reduction from 146g/km to 98g/km. Additionally, a pilot program will allow manufacturers to reduce their emissions by up to 5% annually if they directly produce or use renewable energy at their domestic facilities, offering an indirect reduction method.

Passenger cars and vans seating 10 or fewer will have their greenhouse gas emission standards lowered from 70g/km to 54g/km starting in 2030.

— Ministry of EnvironmentThis quote details the specific emission reduction target for smaller passenger vehicles.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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