기업의 책임과 화석연료산업에 대한 투자

한철 ( Han Cheol ) 한남대학교 과학기술법연구원 2018 과학기술법연구 Vol.24 No.2

오늘날과 같이 기후변화의 문제가 심각해지고 있는 시대에 계속적으로 기존의 경영 방식을 고집한다면 인류의 미래는 위태롭게 될 수밖에 없고, 인권 상황의 개선을 위한 노력도 물거품이 될 수 있다. 환경보호 및 빈곤근절은 필수적인 요건이며, 지속가능한 개발의 달성을 위한 필수적인 부분이다. 지속가능한 개발은 현재 및 미래 세대의 개발 및 환경요구를 공정하게 충족시키는 데서부터 시작한다. 기업계에서는 인권과 기후변화의 관계에 대한 인식이 증대되고 있다. 이러한 기후변화에 대한 인식의 증대는 기관투자자들에게 화석연료산업으로부터 투자를 회수하도록 영감을 불어넣고 있다. 이와 같은 화석연료산업에 대한 투자의 회수 및 지속가능하고 사회적으로 책임 있는 기업에 대한 투자는 변화를 위한 강력한 동력이 될 것이다. 그러므로 이 논문은 지구 환경 보호 및 현재와 미래 세대의 보호를 위해 화석연료산업으로부터 투자를 회수하는 운동의 배후에 있는 법률적 논리를 검토했다 Climate change is having a negative impact on economies around the world. The financial sector is waking up to climate change--first and foremost because the impact of extreme weather events can have devastating financial and human impacts. Financial institutions have become one of the most ubiquitous influences in modern economies, mobilizing capital resources for new development in the real economy, brokering financial transactions, and managing investment risks. Awareness of climate change has made institutional investors to divest from fossil fuels. This fossil fuel divestment and investment in sustainable and socially responsible businesses will become a powerful driver of change for the present and future generations. Divesting from fossil fuels and SRI reduces GHG emissions, helps eradicate poverty, promotes sustainability, and protects future generations. This Article explores whether divestment from fossil fuels can reduce GHG emissions.

금융시장과 화석연료규제의 법률적 메커니즘

한철(Han, Cheol) 강원대학교 비교법학연구소 2021 환경법과 정책 Vol.26 No.-

최근 150년간 지구의 평균기온은 섭씨 8도 정도 상승했다. 4계절이 뚜렷한 우리나라 기후는 머지않아 연중 고온다습한 아열대 기후로 굳어질 것이라는 전망이 나온다. 화석연료를 어떻게 해야 할 것인가? 과학기술의 영역만이 아니라 자본시장도 할 수 있는 역할이 있지 않을까? 그리하여 전문가들은 화석연료를 생산하는 기업에 대한 자본시장 관련법에서의 대응방안을 찾는 노력을 경주하고 있다. 탄소집약적인 화석연료로부터 청정에너지 기술에 대한 재투자로 투자패턴을 전환하도록 자극하는데 있어서 기업법 및 자본시장관련법의 메커니즘이 어떻게 작동될 수 있을까? 화석연료산업으로부터의 투자회수 전략이 상당한 성과를 거두었고 도덕적 지지도 얻고 있음은 사실이다. 그럼에도 불구하고 이 운동과 관련하여 탄소시장경제에 대한 직접적인 경제적 영향과 화석연료에 의한 현재의 시장지배력에 대해서는 의문이 남아있다. 일반적으로 회사의 행동을 변화시키기 위한 접근방법으로서 주주의 참여는 투자의 회수보다 장점을 가지고 있다. 참여는 주주가 이용할 수 있는 고유한 의사소통수단을 제공하여 활동가가 공식적인 수단을 통해 회사 경영진 및 기타 주주에게 접근할 수 있게 해준다. 주주우선주의 규범과 높은 신뢰도 공유가치 프레임은 활동가 주주의 메시지가 이러한 대상들에게 더 설득력이 있음을 시사한다. 기업에 개혁능력이 없거나 활동가와 지지하는 주주들이 참여 노력을 압박할 수 있는 자원이 부족한 경우를 제외하고는 참여가 투자회수보다 나은 접근법이 될 수 있을 것이다. 이제는 지구촌의 모든 사람들에게 기후변화문제가 심각한 도전이 되는 시대이다. 전 세계 4대 기후악당으로 불리는 등 명예롭지 못한 비난을 받기도 했던 우리나라도 ‘2050 탄소중립 비전’을 선언했다. 눈앞에 있는 작은 이익만 생각하고 행동한다면 우리의 손으로 우리 다음 세대들의 공간을 없애는 결과가 될 것이다. 우리 자본시장도 후손들의 삶의 터전을 보존하는 일에 힘을 보태는 메커니즘에 관심을 기울여야 할 이유이다. 현명한 운동가들이 꿈을 실현하고 동지를 규합하여 회사 경영진 및 다양한 이해관계자들에게 보내는 메시지를 경청하는 자본시장의 법과 현실이 만들어지기를 기대한다. In the last 150 years, the average temperature of the Earth has risen by 8 degrees Celsius. It is predicted that Korea’s climate, with four distinct seasons, will soon harden into a subtropical climate with high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. What to do with fossil fuels? Isn’t there a role that not only science and technology but also capital markets can play? Thus, various activists are making efforts to find countermeasures in capital market-related laws to companies that produce fossil fuels. How can the mechanisms of business law and capital market law work in stimulating a shift in investment patterns from carbon-intensive fossil fuels to reinvestment in clean energy technologies? It is true that the strategy for divestment from the fossil fuel industry has paid off considerably and has gained moral support. Nevertheless, in connection with this movement, questions remain about the direct economic impact on the carbon market economy and the current market dominance of fossil fuels. In general, shareholder participation as a tactic that changes the company’s behavior is evaluated as better than the divestment. Participation provides a unique means of communication available to shareholders, allowing activists to access company management and other shareholders through formal means. The shareholders’ priority norms and high reliability shared value frame suggest that the message of activists and shareholders is more persuasive to these targets. Participation may be a better tactic than divestment, unless a company has the capacity to reform or lacks the resources to pressure the participation efforts of activists and shareholders. Now is a time when climate change is a serious challenge for everyone in the global village. Korea, which has been criticized with dishonor, such as being called the world’s four largest climate villains, has also declared the “2050 Carbon Neutral Vision”. If we only think and act on the small interests in front of our eyes, it will result in erasing the space of our next generations with our hands. This is why our capital markets should also pay attention to the mechanisms that contribute to the preservation of the homes of our descendants. We look forward to the creation of a capital market law and reality where wise activists will realize their dreams, gather comrades, and listen to messages sent to company management and various stakeholders.

Status Seeking through Social Creativity Has Its Limits

Sean O’Malley 동아시아국제정치학회 2014 국제정치연구 Vol.17 No.2

The paper uses social identity theory to assess South Korea’s lack of membership in the Friends of Fossil Fuel Subsidy Reform, a group of small states advocating for the global elimination of fossil-fuel subsidies. This paper asks whether South Korea would be a complement to the Friends group and whether joining the group would boost Korea’s international profile and middle power status. It subsequently tries to explain why Korea has yet to join the group. After a short introduction, the paper provides a general explanation of the need for fossil fuel subsidy reform. Section three introduces the concept of social creativity and argues that South Korea is embracing status-seeking behavior. Section four presents the Friends group and assesses South Korea as a complement to that group. Section five looks at the international prospects of subsidy reform from an institutional perspective and asks whether the Friends group or South Korea can potentially influence movement in subsidy reform. Section six argues that although South Korea seems an ideal fit to join the Friends group, South Korea has not joined for a number of reasons, including domestic economic constraints, considerations in bilateral relations and Korean preferences for certain institutional structures. Lastly, the paper concludes that status-seeking behavior has its limits, and although the Friends group would add little benefit to South Korea’s international profile, South Korea’s lack of membership in the group is a missed opportunity to further subsidy reform.

Progress in carbon emission reduction technology in fossil fuel-based hydrogen production

KEIYINCI, Sinan,AYDIN, Kadir Techno-Press 2021 Advances in environmental research Vol.10 No.2

Today, almost all hydrogen production is based on fossil fuels. Hydrogen production plants contribute to harmful emissions in the atmosphere, which is one of the causes of global warming. In order to obtain hydrogen as an entirely green energy source, there is an urgent requirement to significantly reduce or even completely eliminate carbon emissions from fossil fuel-based hydrogen production processes. In this context, new efforts should be increased to develop hydrogen production technologies that produce lower levels of harmful emissions. The development of carbon capture technology by the chemical cycle offers great potential to reduce harmful emissions generated during hydrogen production from fossil fuels. In this study, hydrogen production methods from fossil sources have been reviewed and the recent studies of chemical looping technology for hydrogen production were presented.

수소생산 기술동향

이신근(Shin-Kun Ryi),한재윤(Jae-Yun Han),김창현(Chang-Hyun Kim),임한권(Hankwon Lim),정호영(Ho-Young Jung) 한국청정기술학회 2017 청정기술 Vol.23 No.2

온실가스 배출과 지구온난화 문제로 인하여 화석연료를 대체할 수 있는 신재생에너지 개발 및 확산의 필요성이 증가하고 있는데, 청정에너지원인 수소가 주목을 받고 있다. 수소는 지구상에서 가장 많이 존재하는 원소이며, 화석연료, 바이오매스 및 물 등 다양한 형태로 존재한다. 수소를 연료로 사용하기 위해서는 경제적인 방법뿐만 아니라 환경에 미치는 영향을 최소화하는 방법으로 생산하는 것이 중요하다. 수소생산방법에는 전통적 방법인 화석연료 개질반응을 통한 생산과 재생가능한 방법인 바이오매스 및 물을 이용한 생산으로 나뉜다. 화석연료를 이용한 수소생산은 습윤개질반응, 자열개질반응, 부분산화반응 및 가스화반응 등 열화학적 방법으로 가능한데, 이를 청정에너지원으로서 사용하기 위해서는 수소생산과 더불어 이산화탄소 포집이 필요하다. 바이오매스를 이용한 수소생산은 그 양이 매우 미미한 수준이며, 특히 생물학적 전환법은 효율증가를 위한 반응기 구성, 수소생산미생물 배양 등 효과적으로 수소를 생산하기 위한 연구가 더욱 진행되어야 한다. 물분해를 통한 수소생산이 가장 청정한 수소생산기술이지만 태양광, 태양열, 풍력 등 재생 가능한 에너지원으로부터 충분한 에너지공급이 가능해야 한다. The increase of greenhouse gases and the concern of global warming instigate the development and spread of renewable energy and hydrogen is considered one of the clean energy sources. Hydrogen is one of the most elements in the earth and exist in the form of fossil fuel, biomass and water. In order to use hydrogen for a clean energy source, the hydrogen production method should be eco-friendly and economic as well. There are two different hydrogen production methods: conventional thermal method using fossil fuel and renewable method using biomass and water. Steam reforming, autothermal reforming, partial oxidation, and gasification (using solid fuel) have been considered for hydrogen production from fossil fuel. When using fossil fuel, carbon dioxide should be separated from hydrogen and captured to be accepted as a clean energy. The amount of hydrogen from biomass is insignificant. In order to occupy noticeable portion in hydrogen industries, biomass conversion, especially, biological method should be sufficiently improved in a process efficiency and a microorganism cultivation. Electrolysis is a mature technology and hydrogen from water is considered the most eco-friendly method in terms of clean energy when the electric power is from renewable sources such as photovoltaic cell, solar heat, and wind power etc.

화석연료 연소 모사공정에서 원소수은 및 질소산화물 동시저감 특성연구

김완수,이경원,동종인 한국대기환경학회 2020 한국대기환경학회지 Vol.36 No.5

In this study, a catalyst in which CuCl2 was injected into activated carbon and zeolite was prepared to analyze the removal of elemental mercury and the simultaneous reduction of NOx in the SCR (Selective Catalyst Reaction) reaction. The purpose of this study is to analyze the reaction characteristics of elemental mercury and NOx by simultaneously injecting NH3, CO, O2, and H2O which occupy a large part of exhaust gas, in order to select the optimal control method during fossil fuel combustion. As a result of the experiment, BZC[Beta Zeolite+CuCl2 (6 wt%)] catalyst showed higher efficiency in simultaneously reducing elemental mercury and NOx more than ACC[Activated Carbon+CuCl2 (6 wt%)]. This could potentially be used in real fossil fuel processes. Since the influence of moisture in the mixed gas is very large, it was confirmed that moisture control for exhaust gas is necessary as an optimal management method. It is thought that it can be used as basic data when controlling elemental mercury and NOx simultaneously.

Dissolved organic carbon in the precipitation of Seoul, Korea: Implications for global wet depositional flux of fossil-fuel derived organic carbon

Yan, G.,Kim, G. Pergamon Press ; Elsevier [distribution] 2012 Atmospheric environment Vol.59 No.-

Precipitation was sampled in Seoul over a one-year period from 2009 to 2010 to investigate the sources and fluxes of atmospheric dissolved organic carbon (DOC). The concentrations of DOC varied from 15 μM to 780 μM, with a volume-weighted average of 94 μM. On the basis of correlation analysis using the commonly acknowledged tracers, such as vanadium, the combustion of fossil-fuels was recognized to be the dominant source. With the aid of air mass backward trajectory analyses, we concluded that the primary fraction of DOC in our precipitation samples originated locally in Korea, albeit the frequent long-range transport from eastern and northeastern China might contribute substantially. In light of the relatively invariant organic carbon to sulfur mass ratios in precipitation over Seoul and other urban regions around the world, the global magnitude of wet depositional DOC originating from fossil-fuels was calculated to be 36 +/- 10 Tg C yr<SUP>-1</SUP>. Our study further underscores the potentially significant environmental impacts that might be brought about by this anthropogenically derived component of organic carbon in the atmosphere.

중국 화력발전산업의 CO_2 암묵가격 및 잠재감축량, 연료에 대한 대체가능성 분석

김영미 ( Ying Mei Jin ),이명헌 ( Yung Hun Lee ) 한국환경경제학회·한국자원경제학회(구 한국환경경제학회) 2013 자원·환경경제연구 Vol.22 No.1

본 논문에서는 향후 포스트 교토협약에서 온실가스 감축의무국으로 분류될 가능성이 높은 세계 최대의 CO_2 배출국 중국의 화력발전산업을 대상으로 Shephard 투입물거리함수를 추정하여 CO_2 암묵가격과 기술효율성, 그리고 투입요소 간 간접 모리시마 대체탄력성을 측정한다. 1981-2009년 기간 동안 CO_2 1톤을 감축하는 데 연간 평균 약 3.2달러의 비용이 드는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 한국, 일본의 발전 산업에 대한 CO_2 암묵가격 추정치보다 낮은 수준으로서 향후 이들 나라와 배출권 거래가 이루어질 경우 배출권 판매를 통한 경제적 이득이 예상된다. 기술효율성의 향상으로 달성할 수 있는 최대 CO_2 잠재 감축량은 연간 평균 약 2천 5백만톤에 이르는 것으로 산정되었다. 석탄과 석유 등의 연료와 자본은 상호 대체가능하며 자본이연료를 더 용이하게 대체하는 것으로 나타났다. China, the world`s largest CO_2 producer, is likely to be obligated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the post-Kyoto protocol. This paper estimates a Shephard input distance function for the Chinese fossil-fueled power generation sector to measure the shadow price of CO_2 emissions, technical efficiency, and indirect Morishima elasticities of substitution between inputs. Empirical results show that, on average, it costs approximately 3.2 US dollars per year to reduce CO_2 emissions by one ton over the period 1981-2009. This finding indicates that Chinese power sector is expected to benefit from selling emission permits to other countries such as Korea and Japan, given that our estimate for China is lower than the ones previous literatures estimated for the power sector in these countries. The maximum attainable average CO_2 reduction potential amounts to approximately 25 million tons per year by improving technical efficiency. Capital is substitutable with both coal and oil and capital is relatively more readily substituted for these fuels.

Association between air pollution in the 2015 winter in South Korea and population size, car emissions, industrial activity, and fossil-fuel power plants

Hyeran Choi,Jun-Pyo Myong 대한직업환경의학회 2018 대한직업환경의학회지 Vol.30 No.-

Background: Compared to 10 years ago, the ambient particulate matter 10 (PM10) and carbon monoxide (CO) levels in South Korea have decreased. However, compared to many other OECD countries, these levels are still too high. Concentration of air pollutants such as PM10 is especially higher during winter than during summer. The first step to rationally solving the air pollution problem in Korea is to identify the key air pollution sources during each season. This ecological study was performed to assess the association between the number of days the accepted PM10 and CO thresholds were exceeded and the concentration of potential emission sources in winter season 2015. Methods: An emission inventory of the PM10 and CO emissions in the 232 administrative South Korean districts in January, 2015, and February, 2015 and December, 2015, and the population density, number of car registrations, number of car accidents, industrial power usage, and presence of a fossil-fuel power plant in each district was established on the basis of official web-page data from the government. For all emission source variables except power plants, the administrative districts were grouped into quartiles. Districts were also divided according to whether a power plant was present or not. Negative binomial regression was performed to assess the associations between the PM10 and CO air pollution (defined as ≥100 g/㎥ and ≥ 9 ppm, respectively) and the concentration of each emission source. Results: Compared to the districts with the lowest population density, the districts with the third highest population density associated most strongly with air pollution. This was also observed for industrial power usage. Car accident number and car registration numbers showed a linear relationship with air pollution. Districts with power plants were significantly more likely to have air pollution than districts that lacked a plant. Conclusions: Greater car numbers, industrial activity, and population density, and the presence of fossil-fuel plants associated with air pollution in the 2015 winter in South Korea. These data highlight the contaminant sources that could be targeted by interventions that aim to reduce air pollution, decrease the incidence of exposure, and limit the impact of pollution on human health.

Fossil fuels environmental challenges and the role of solar photovoltaic technology advances in fast tracking hybrid renewable energy system

Williams S. Ebhota,Tien-Chien Jen 한국정밀공학회 2020 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.7 No.1

The rise in global urbanization comes with sustainable development challenges, especially in lower-middle-income countries. In response to these urbanization and energy challenges, this study focuses on the roles of energy materials (EMs) advances on community-scale hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES). The study proposes the integration of energy material (EM) R&D into HRES (EMR&D-HRES). The study examines the economic benefits and the environmental and health consequences that trail the deployment of fossil fuels. Special attention was given to SSA, a region that—accommodates the highest population without modern energy; emits the least CO2 to the global CO2 emissions and yet endangered by climate change challenges and air pollution diseases. The study includes global responses to energy challenges, such as increase alternative energies share, with special attention to solar photovoltaic (PV) power generation technologies; policy framework; HRES and effects of PV materials advances on HRES. This study is of the view that a further breakthrough in the production of low-cost flexible thin film PV modules will facilitate energy trilemma accomplishment. The exploitation of the attributes of atomic layer deposition in manufacturing of thin film is seen as a potential future production technique, suitable for efficient flexible thin-film PV module production.