▷ The 5th Comprehensive Plan for National Environment (2020-2040) was approved at the State Council

▷ The plan presents directions for the overall economic and social green transition, including phase-outs for coal, internal combustion engines, and plastic

▷ 'Environmental Justice' will be realized to protect environmentally vulnerable people and provide environmentally-related benefits for everyone

The Ministry of Environment (Minister Cho Myung-rae) announced that the 5th Comprehensive Plan for National Environment (2020-2040) was reviewed and approved at the 52nd State Council, which was held on December 10th.

The Comprehensive Plan for National Environment is the highest-level statutory plan*. This plan provides directions for the environmental plans of each sector and leads the environment-related policies of other central administrative agencies and the environment protection plans of local governments. This fifth iteration of the plan contains the visions and long-term plans to cover the period from 2020 to 2040 for national environmental management.

* Under Article 14 of the Framework Act on Environmental Policy, the Minister of Environment establishes the plan every 20 years after consultations with the heads of related central administrative agencies.

The government had been implementing the 4th Comprehensive Plan for National Environment (2016-2035) from 2015, but the 4th plan had its limits, including consistency with other plans (National Comprehensive Territorial Plan, etc.) and connectivity with the environmental plans of local governments.

Therefore, the government has introduced the 5th plan to respond to the changed situations (including the introduction of the linkage policy of land planning and environmental planning in March 2018, the overhaul of the national water management system in June 2018, and the introduction of the concept of 'Environmental Justice' in the Framework Act on Environmental Policy in January 2019) and lead the overall green transition of economy and society.

The 5th plan differentiates itself in terms of 'communication, connection, transition, and space' from the previous plan.

First, the government operated a participation group* to allow citizens to participate in the making of the new plan, and communicated with a wide range of stakeholders, including civil society, local authorities (local governments and research institutes), and experts.

*108 volunteers, consisting of 93 adults and 15 young people

Second, the consistency and connectivity with the Comprehensive National Territorial Plan were improved by the operation of the planning council (chairs: Vice Minister of the two relevant ministries) and a working level consultative body. The implementation periods of the two comprehensive plans (2020-2040) were equalized, and key future predictions (e.g. depopulation) and five response strategies were shared in both plans.

Third, the 5th plan anticipated the sharp rise of environmental damage costs, mainstreaming of the concept of the Anthropocene*, and increase of the pressure for the green transition. Accordingly, the plan features transitional policies, including 'transition to a coal-free society', 'phase-out of fossil fuel vehicles', and a 'phase-out of plastic'.

* Anthropocene: A theory that points to human activities as the main cause of the current geological changes and names the next geological period "the Anthropocene", as opposed to "the Holocene", the current and last geological period. 

Finally, for the first time, the new plan suggested spatial environmental strategies at the national and regional levels. Consequently, the concept of the national ecological axis* was established and the environmental strategies tailored to each region (e.g. the Han River, Seoul Capital Area) were suggested. Also, the spatial environment management strategies were created anew by analyzing the places of extra vulnerability to climate change or low environmental qualities, and designating them as the 'climate resilience improvement area', 'environmental quality management area', etc.

* Consists of the axis of ecological green belts (Baekdudaegan Mountain Range, DMZ, and small mountain ranges) and the axis of coasts and rivers (the five major rivers, major coasts)  

The 5th Comprehensive Plan for National Environment presents the vision of 'Building a Sustainable and Ecological Country with the People', based on the notion of civic participation in the planning and its implementation, the principle of 'sustainable development', and the vision of becoming a 'leading country in the environment sector by 2040'.

In addition, the plan sets the three main targets: A green environment full of life, a happy environment improving the quality of our lives, and a smart environment that transforms our economic and social systems. The following are seven key strategies for achieving them.

(Strategy 1) Expand ecological capacity in the territory of the country to ensure ecological sustainability and improve the quality of life for the people.

The connectivity of the national ecological axis will be strengthened by restoring the damaged and severed areas in the axis. The trend of the changes of ecological capacity in the territory will become a 'net gain' status through active ecological restoration projects for idle and abandoned sites.

* The proportion of national outstanding ecosystem areas (categorized as level 1 areas in the ecological and natural map + designated as conservation areas) : 24.8% in 2018 → 33% in 2040

In particular, this strategy includes plans to rearrange cities to become more compact (smart shrinking) and restore natural spaces as a response to depopulation.

Based on the increased ecological capacity, the areas with excellent ecosystems will be designated as 'ecological service promotion areas' that will promote ecological service industries, including ecotourism and ecological relaxation treatments.

(Strategy 2) Implement Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for a sustainable coexistence of people and nature.

An integrated water resources management system will be established that encompasses and interconnects every sector of water resources management, including water quality, water quantity, water ecosystem, and flood control. The related information (e.g. weather, floodgates) currently managed by each relative agency will be encompassed and interconnected, and the related infrastructure (e.g. hydroelectric dams and agricultural reservoirs, metropolitan water supply systems, and local water supply systems) will be managed uniformly.

The current centralized water resources management system will be a basin-based management system to create a participatory governance system for the stakeholders in each basin. To this end, the basin-level water management council will be activated, and the water resources management policies tailored to each medium influence area and small influence area will be implemented. 

In addition to the current water supply system policy that focuses on supply itself, the safety of drinking water will be ensured*, by measures such as the strengthening of hazardous substances management (e.g. microplastic) and the repairing of outdated infrastructure. Also, the efficiency of water resources management will be maximized by fortifying water demand management and promoting the reuse of processed sewage water.

* The rate of intaking tap water (for cooking, etc.): 49.4 % in 2017 → 60 % in 2040

(Strategy 3) Protect people's health from environmental hazards (e.g. fine dust).

The construction of new coal power plants will be stopped, and the number of existing facilities will be reduced considerably. Social dialogues on the 'coal-free roadmap' will be held to achieve the ultimate goal, a total transition into the 'coal-free society'. 

Along with the reduction of coal power plants, the ultrafine dust (PM2.5) concentration* will be reduced to the level recommended by WHO (10㎍/㎥) by 2040 through a transition to eco-friendly fuels and the reinforcement of pollutant emission management. 

* As of 2017: Seoul (23㎍/㎥), Los Angeles (4.8㎍/㎥), Tokyo (12.8㎍/㎥), and Paris (14㎍/㎥)

The information on the hazardous levels of every chemical substance in the market will be secured by 2040, and the monitoring and harmfulness evaluation programs on the new hazardous materials (e.g. nanomaterials, microplastic, endocrine disruptors) will be implemented.

(Strategy 4) Overcome climate and environmental crises and establish a low-carbon safe society.

To increase the sales rate of electronic and hydrogen cars to be 80 percent of the total vehicle sales in 2040, the standards for emission and mileage of vehicles will be tightened, and the dissemination target of low emission vehicles will be gradually strengthened. Furthermore, social dialogues on the establishment of a 'non-combustion engine vehicles dissemination roadmap' will be held, and the 2050 long-term low-carbonization strategy will be created.

To build climate-resilient cities that can cope with climate crises, plans to establish green infrastructure (e.g. new deal for urban restoration, water circulation cities, and the expansion of green belts) will be implemented. 

(Strategy 5) Realize environmental justice through inclusive environmental policies.

The monitoring of environmentally inequal areas (e.g. areas suffering from mixed developments among residential and industrial areas, areas near the workplaces emitting a large amount of harmful substances) will be strengthened, and projects to improve the areas will be actively implemented.

The scope of environmental information release (e.g. the status of pollutants emission or chemical substances distribution) will be extended, citizens' participation in the making of key environmental policies and projects from the planning and feasibility study stages will be guaranteed, and participatory public budget planning will be promoted.

(Strategy 6) Accelerate the transition to a green circular economy through a green industry and innovative R&Ds.

The elimination of plastic risks for the environment and people's health will be carried out by developing environmentally safe plastic and alternative materials, reducing the use of plastic goods, and gradually banning the use of disposable goods.

World-class future environmental technologies* will be secured through innovative research and development, and environmental industry clusters** for each sector and region will be established to nurture environmental companies and jobs. 

* The technology gap between the most developed country in the environment sector (The U.S.): 4.1 years in 2018 → 3 months in 2040

** Eco-science Park in the Seoul Capital Area, National Water Cluster in Daegu, etc.

(Strategy 7) Create an environment community on the Korean Peninsula to lead the environmental protection of the earth.

The environmental situation in North Korea will be precisely studied to prepare the era of reunification. The Korean Peninsula Ecological Network* will be made by connecting the ecological axes in the two Koreas.

* E.g. Designation of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as an international ecological peace park and the Seorak-Geumgang-DMZ border area as a biosphere reserve

The government will faithfully implement environmental international agreements (e.g. UNFCCC), lead-related international dialogues, and actively expand development cooperation projects for developing countries in the environment sector, including water and waste treatment. 

As the 5th Comprehensive Plan for the National Environment (2020-2040) has been finalized, the government will reflect the plan upon the environmental plans for each sector and start systematic rearrangements to implement the plan, including the establishment of basic provisions to evaluate and examine the environmental protection plans of local governments. 

Furthermore, the Ministry of Environment and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport will keep working together to ensure substantial implementation of the integrated management of the territorial plan and environmental plans, one of the key national agenda of the incumbent government.

"The next twenty years will be a critical period in terms of global environment, when we must make a transition from a carbon-based civilization to a green civilization," stated Minister Cho Myung-rae. "The 5th Comprehensive Plan for National Environment will be a rudder for the green transition of Korea."