blue sky 21 – capital region clean air initiatives

introduction
since august 2002, the ministry of environment has taken bold steps in developing drastic measures to protect and improve the air quality of seoul metropolitan region. the special act proceeded through numerous consultations with relevant ministries including the ministry of finance and economy, and the ministry of construction and transportation among others. in this backdrop, on july 3rd, the agreement was made among governmental agencies and relevant ministries to further progress the "special act on seoul metropolitan air quality improvement" and its detailed articles.
the key features of this special act include strengthening of preventive management mechanisms like the total maximum loading system of pollutants and vehicle-generated pollution reduction. the ministry of environment's measures will continue to move forward through the regulatory reformation committee, the legislation office, and the cabinet council. finally, the ministry plans to present the special act at the national assembly for an enactment in september 2003.

background
seoul metropolitan region accounts for 46% of both total population and automobile ownerships, while occupying only 12% of the total national land. the high population density makes it very difficult to manage the air quality in the region, thus the air quality improvement requires tremendous efforts by both public and private sectors.
however, regulating air pollution with end-of-pipe approach would not be sufficient to fundamentally address the increasing pollution sources. in order to cope with the situation, the ministry of environment has developed the drastic measures to significantly improve the air quality in the metropolitan area.

current air quality status in seoul metropolitan region
korea has made various efforts to improve the air quality through, among others, supplying clean energy (natural gas, low-sulfur fuel, etc.) and strengthening emission standards for industries and motor vehicles. these efforts markedly reduced air pollutants such as sox and co in major cities. however, as korea's economy developed rapidly in the 1990's causing a rapid rise in the number of cars and industrial expansions, the concentration of ozone (o3), nitrogen dioxide (no2), and micro-dusts in seoul have not shown much improvement.
next section describes the special measure on seoul metropolitan air quality improvement in detail.

1. ive and the application scope of the law
the special measure on seoul metropolitan air quality improvement will be carried out from 2003 through 2012 to achieve the targeted level of air quality. during this period, the ministry of environment will reduce air pollution to the level of developed countries; annual average concentration of pm10 will be reduced to 40% and that of no2 will to 22 ppb. if this target is attained, it is expected that the clear visibility of the sky will also significantly improve.
in addition, the law will also be implemented in the districts that account for the polluted air quality of seoul metropolitan region due to geographic and climate conditions.

2. the basic plan of the air quality management
the ministry of environment will formulate the basic plan in every ten years in consultation with relevant government agencies, and mayors and governors are to implement the plan. to address air pollution in a more comprehensive and systematical manner, the plan will be revised and strengthened in every five years considering the changes in conditions such as energy consumption, population, vehicle number, and regional development plan.
the plan has a long- term goal on air quality improvement and elimination of air pollution by strengthening the emission standards. furthermore, it entails the targeted air quality and environmental ives of seoul metropolitan region as well as of the relevant districts.

3. enforcement of total maximum loading system of air pollutants
to consolidate the air quality management in seoul metropolitan region, the act calls for the industries over a prescribed scale to accompany approvals from the minister of environment. the act also entails prohibiting new establishments or expansions of the industries that are subject to the regulations against hazardous air pollutants, including nitrogen oxide, sulfur pollutant, and micro-dusts in particular. furthermore, the minister of environment will allocate a permissible emission quantum to the industries in every five years. thereafter, those industries are to facilitate mechanisms that estimate the emission quantum and to renew the government's approvals in every five years. meanwhile, the industries may trade the permissible emission quantum with other business owners to spend or deposit for a later use. when the industries result in emission reductions, they will be exempted from the obligated use of low - sulfur fuel, also from the imposition of emission discharging costs.

4. preparation for low-emission vehicle adoption
implementing a stringent vehicle emission gas reduction measure is key to improving the air quality. thus, introduction of low-emission vehicles will be mandatory in seoul metropolitan region. in order to facilitate the adoption of low-emission vehicles, this region will be subject to more stringent regulations than other areas. the minister of environment will annually announce the goals and plans in implementing the low-emission vehicles in consultation with the central administrative organizations. furthermore, to create a market for the low-emission vehicles, the automobile manufacturers will have to sell low-emission vehicles such as electric hybrid cars above a set percentage of the total sales, and selected public agencies and administrative agencies will be obligated to purchase those vehicles above a set ratio.

5. strengthening in-use vehicle management
to reduce air pollutants emitted from automobiles, it is necessary to strengthen the management of in-use vehicles. the in-use vehicles past the approved term of gas exhaustion will be required to comply with tougher emission regulations.
in order to implement the plan in a more effective manner, the government will financially assist the vehicle owners in installing the emission filters, with further assistance in disposing or repairing the used vehicles. the certified tags will be attached to the low-emission vehicles initiating further supports from the government.
furthermore, the standards for gasoline and diesel will be strengthened, since the reduction of air pollutants emitted from automobiles is closely related to the upgrading of vehicle fuel quality.

6. strengthening the management of volatile organic compounds (voc)
the standards for voc concentration in paints will be established, while paint manufacturing companies and buyers will be required to submit the business showings to municipal and provincial governors. in addition, the voc emission prevention facilities in operation will also be expanded nationwide.

7. securing and managing the plan
the korean government will prepare a special account in support for the successful implementation of the special act. the government also aims to establish a seoul metropolitan air quality improvement committee composed of provincial and municipal governors under a direction of the prime minister to serve d eliberatio n and meditation duties. furthermore, public servants and environmental professionals will constitute the practical commission committee to discuss the matters that require further investigations.