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In Focus


Ministry of Environment plan 2013: 2013.04.09; □ On the 4th, the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport (MOLIT) reported the 2013 Work Plan at the Sejong Government Complex. ○ MOE reported a plan to successfully implement the national agenda (10 items under the jurisdiction of MOE) and to create a pleasant and sustainable environment. ○ A detailed roadmap was released regarding the top 3 strategic goals: ① Creating a safe living environment, ② Providing environmental services on a par with the level of the advanced countries, ③ Completing the shift to a sustainable development paradigm. □ MOE also pledged to support the realization of Government 3.0 where bureaucracy will be minimized to better meet the needs of the public and boost national competitiveness. ○ In particular, MOE promised to cooperate with other ministries and establish a governance structure with the civil society to produce tangible results in managing land and water resources, tackling climate change, and conserving the natural ecosystem. 1. Protect our citizens and the environment from toxic chemical leaks □ Drawing lessons from the recent chemical accidents, MOE will focus on policies to protect our citizens and the environment from toxic chemical leaks. ○ First of all, MOE will draft a plan to adopt Off-site Consequcne Analysis* to prevent toxic chemical accidents in advance. * A system in which the negative impact of a possible chemical substance leakage or explosion is evaluated to safely design and build the facilities from the beginning. - Once this system is launched, chemical accidents can be prevented in advance or immediately managed if an accident occurs. ○ In addition, an offender restitution policy* and a three-strike policy** will be introduced since the recent chemical accidents and the clumsy responses in the aftermath were largely due to the management’s insensitivity to public safety. * The offender(polluter) will be obliged to pay for the damages in case a chemical accident occurs. (If the damage amount exceeds an individual’s capacity to pay, the remaining will be covered by insurance. If the polluter is unidentifiable, non-existent, or incapable, a relief fund will cover the damages.) ** The operating license will be revoked if a firm is responsible for three consecutive chemical accidents within a certain period . - As firms bear the responsibility of paying the damages for environmental pollution accidents, the management will have no choice but to strictly manage the chemical substances. ○ A special law will be enacted some time this year to introduce the aforementioned policies. □ The Ministry will expand the list of potentially harmful substances subject to inspection to include not only new chemical substances but also those substances already distributed in the market. Those substances confirmed to be harmful will be restricted or banned from use. ○ List of existing chemical substances subject to inspection will be expanded from the current 15 substances to include some 300 substances from 2015. In particular, regulations regarding consumer chemical products such as humidifier sterilizers will be strengthened by putting in place content standards and labeling regulations. ○ The Ministry will put forth a multilateral effort into passing the “Act Concerning Registration, Evaluation, Etc. of Chemical Substances” in the National Assembly and enacting it by September 2013. □ To protect the water supplies from toxic green algae, the Ministry will take preemptive measures including sounding early algae warnings and managing advanced water treatment plants. ○ In case of algae blooms, MOE will consult with relevant ministries to consider discharging water from the upper streams. 2. Provide satisfactory environmental services to residents in both the rural and urban regions. □ The Ministry will close the environmental service gap in the rural regions so that rural residents will have access to the environmental services enjoyed by the urban dwellers. ○ To this end, the Ministry plans to expand the water supply in the rural regions. (Increase the penetration rate from 58.8% in 2011 to 80% in 2017) ○ In areas without access to water supplies, ground water quality inspections will be carried out for free to reassure the local residents of safe drinking water. □ For urban dwellers, the Ministry will provide pleasant places for relaxation and tackle the air quality problem by coming up with measures against ultrafine particles. ○ Idle land in the metropolitan area will be revamped to ecological resting areas so that the urban dwellers can enjoy nature close at hand, - First of all, construction of 3 ‘Nature gardens’ will begin in the early half of this year by utilizing idle or damaged areas in cities such as Seoul and Busan. A total of 20 nature gardens will be established by 2017. - To enhance the ecological functions of the urban parks, 13 ‘Urban micro-ecosystems’ will be designated. ○ Ultrafine particle warning system* will be launched to provide ‘Weather & Air quality information“ so that the public can plan their outdoor activities. In addition, the Ministry will focus on enhancing the environmental welfare of children and the senior citizens whose health may be particularly susceptible to the weather conditions. * (Ultrafine particle warning system) A pilot system for ultrafine particle(PM10) warnings will be launched in 2013 for the metropolitan region. From 2014, the system will cover the entire country providing warnings on various pollutants including PM2.5 and ozone level. - To reduce Nitrogen Oxide(NOx) and Surfur Oxide(SOx) that are known to cause PM2.5*, the Ministry will gradually implement reduction measures. In particular, the emission standard (NOx 80%↑) for diesel cars will be strengthened from 2014 while the emission standard(SOx 25%, NOx 20%) for large-scale businesses including power plants will become stricter from 2015. * (PM2.5) Dust particles in the atmosphere with diameters less than 2.5㎛, 1/30 the size of a strand of hair(approximately 50~70㎛). (1 m = 106 ㎛) 3. Promote a circular economy that reuses resources and energy □ To realize a circular economy where resource and energy usage create a virtuous cycle, the Ministry will focus on “Minimization of landfill waste“ while adopting a ”Waste disposal charging system“ based on the market mechanism from 2015. ○ Imposing high waste disposal charges that exceed the recycling costs will result in increased recycling rate and reduced amount of unprocessed waste discharged in landfills. - Through these measures, the Ministry expects to realize economic benefits such as reduced dependency on foreign resources while protecting the public from environmental pollution by safely processing hazardous wastes. - In fact, countries that have prohibited direct discharging of unprocessed waste and adopted waste disposal charging systems including Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands saw their waste landfill rates drop to less than 1%. ※ Waste landfill rates of Austria and Denmark (banned direct disposal and imposed waste disposal charges) stand at 3% ○ The Ministry seeks efficient utilization of land and resources by reducing the domestic waste landfill rate from 17%(projected) in 2013 to 5% in 2017. - If the landfill rate is reduced to 5% by 2017, the accumulated reduction amount will reach 5.48 million ton while the landfill area will be reduced by 0.51㎡. Classification 2013 (Projected) 2017 Accumulated reduction from '13∼'17 Amount of landfill 3.04 million ton (17%) 0.89 million ton (5%) 5.48 million ton □ Also, resource circulation rate will be imposed and managed for each sector and industry to increase the usage of recycled resources or waste resources in the initial input stage of resource and energy. ○ To implement this policy, thorough preparation including the basic unit calculation is necessary in advance. In addition, a T/F team composed of relevant stakeholders and statisticians will conduct in-depth discussions. □ To implement the aforementioned systems and policies, the ’Circular Economy Promotion Law’ will be proposed to the National Assembly in the course of this year. 4. Introduce a new permit system for the installation of pollutant discharging facilities to protect the environment and create jobs □ Indefinite permit system of discharging facilities based on acceptable concentration level has been maintained since its introduction in the 1970s. Now, the government plans to shift to a new re-permit system based on Best Available Technology (BAT). * BAT : The best available technology that makes economic sense while minimizing the burden on the environment ○ Under the existing permit system, operation of the discharging facility was permitted indefinitely once the acceptable concentration level was met making it difficult to cope with the changing circumstances such as technological advancement or the discovery of a new pollutant. ○ With the introduction of the new permit system, approximately KRW 760 billion worth of annual facility investment and creation of 13,800 jobs are expected. Meanwhile, by promoting the development of advanced technology and applying these technologies in the field, the Ministry plans to nurture highly competitive industries that drive the nation’s exports. Reduce bureaucracy to realize Government 3.0 that better serves the public and strengthens the nation’s competitiveness □ The Ministry of Environment will identify areas where cooperation with other ministries are necessary. ○ MOE reported a promotion plan outlining cooperative measures with relevant ministries. Specifically, the Ministry will focus on reducing bureaucracy and putting the public’s need at the center of national administration. □ First of all, a joint directive for administrative convergence among relevant ministries will be established and implemented. An administrative convergence council, jointly chaired by the Deputy Minister of each ministry, will be established to discuss relevant issues. ○ Areas of cooperation include land/water resource management, livestock excretion management/rural community, forest resource/wild plant management, climate change/energy supply, environmental safety accidents, coastal region/marine product management. □ The first step will be establishing a “Joint Land-Environment Planning System” to link the planning stage and the contents of the plans regarding the land and the environment. ○ To this end, MOE will cooperate with MOLIT to revise the “Framework Act on National Territory” and the “Framework Act on Environmental Policy.” ○ Expected benefits include reduced social costs and eco-friendly usage of natural resources. □ To strengthen the environmental assessment process which includes the planning, implementation, and operation stage, areas subject to assessment will be expanded to include energy and water resources. Meanwhile, follow-up management during the operation stage will be evaluated more strictly. □ Minister Yoon Seong-kyu emphasized that ”different ministries should cooperate together to come up with a sustainable system to manage our natural resources in order to prevent social conflicts arising from overexploitation or unsustainable practices“ ○ In fact, uncoordinated national and urban development plans have resulted in the designation of development districts and areas that are 1.2 times greater than the nation’s total land area, leading to problems of overexploitation.

Total : 121 [ 1 / 13 ]

No.	Title	Date	Hit
121	Ministry of Environment plan 2013	2013.04.09	2084
120	Export of environmental industry to increase by 60% despite global economic slump	2013.01.18	2165
119	Words of appreciation for endorsing Korea as the GCF host country	2012.12.10	2155
118	MOE initiates the 10 trillion won projects for recovering the rivers in Indonesia	2012.12.04	1983
117	COP18, a turning point in climate change negotiations	2012.11.28	1870
116	Pre-COP18, Seoul, to reserve success of Doha	2012.10.23	2346
115	Leaders of international climate change negotiations to gather in Korea	2012.10.18	1840
114	Criteria for support and restoration plan for Gumi gas leak	2012.10.11	1714
113	MOE’s 2013 budget: 6.2 trillion won for ‘environmental welfare’ and ‘future environment preparation’	2012.09.25	1857
112	10-day global environmental event: WCC to be held in Jeju from September 6	2012.09.06	1734

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