(A) Comparative study on environmental policy for greenhouse gas mitigation in germany and South Korea

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

As the UNFCCC member countries decided to initiate – or intensify – domestic
preparations for their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) in the 19th COP in November 2013, South Korea is currently under pressure to take more committed action to mitigate GHG emissions like other Annex I countries within the system of Kyoto Protocol. The major premise of this thesis is that it is critical for South Korea to set the goal of GHG emissions reduction under the internal agreement and to prove the achievement of reaching the goal, and that this step would be beneficial for South Korea in the long run. While recognizing and appreciating the successful reduction of the GHG emissions in Germany, this thesis studies and compares the environmental policies for GHG mitigation and the backgrounds of the policy making in both countries, Germany and South Korea, and presents implications from the comparison, based on the analytical framework of the three key parameters such as Interest, Institution and Idea. Through the research, this study learned that, in Germany, there were strong advocacy on the relevant issues from the public which even transferred to the German parliament later on and the willingness of the industrial sector to cooperate, that the Green party in the parliament with the electoral system of the Proportional Representative boosted the policy-making, and that Ecological Modernization as the most dominant ideological background enabled the German government to make effective policies but still consolidating its role. As a result, this thesis asserts that, learning from the German case, South Korea should go beyond the limits of the policy stance of ‘Green Growth’ with the spirit of ‘development first’ by balancing economic growth, technology development and environmental protection on top of the governmental coordination which encourages strong public consensus in the policy-making process instead of the current top-down measure.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................1
• 1.1. Background of the Study .......................................................1
• 1.2. Objective of the Study .......................................................10
• 1.3. Scope and Methodology ........................................................14
• Chapter 2. GHG Mitigation in Ge.....................................................19
• 2.1. Historical Background ........................................................19
• 2.2. Policy Instruments ...........................................................23
• 2.2.1. Electricity Feed-In Act (Stromeinspeisungsgesetz) .........................23
• 2.2.2. Renewable Energy Act (Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, EEG) ...................25
• 2.2.3. Ecological Tax Reform .....................................................28
• 2.2.4. Voluntary Agreement (VA) ..................................................31
• 2.2.5. Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) ..........................................34
• 2.3. Key Parameters ...............................................................36
• 2.3.1. Interest ..................................................................36
• 2.3.2. Institution ...............................................................39
• 2.3.3. Idea ......................................................................43
• Chapter 3. GHG Mitigation in South Korea ...........................................46
• 3.1. Historical Background ........................................................46
• 3.2. Policy Instruments ...........................................................51
• 3.2.1. The Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth .............................51
• 3.2.2. Mid-Term GHG Reduction Goal ...............................................53
• 3.2.3. Target Management System (TMS).............................................55
• 3.2.4. Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) ............................................58
• 3.3. Key Parameters ...............................................................61
• 3.3.1. Interest ..................................................................61
• 3.3.2. Institution ...............................................................62
• 3.3.3. Idea ......................................................................66
• Chapter 4. Comparative Analysis ....................................................69
• 4.1. A Brief Comparison of Policy Instruments .....................................69
• 4.2. Comparative Analysis based on the Key Parameters .............................71
• 4.3. Implications for South Korea .................................................75
• Chapter 5. Conclusion ..............................................................78
• Bibliography .......................................................................82
• Works Cited .......................................................................82
• References ........................................................................93