South Korea plans to invest $747 billion in green transformation — OilPrice

South Korea plans to invest up to one quadrillion won, or $747 billion, by 2035 in the development of renewable energy, the adoption of electric vehicles, and industrial decarbonization. OilPrice reports on the details of the Korea Green Transformation (K-GX) strategy.

Targets through 2035

South Korean officials unveiled a strategy running through 2035. It envisages increasing renewable energy capacity to 100 GW as early as 2030. The country also aims for electric and hydrogen vehicles to account for more than 70% of new vehicle sales by 2035.

A separate component of K-GX is reducing emissions in key industrial sectors. These include steel and cement production, semiconductors, petrochemicals, and oil refining.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Energy security

The strategy is intended to strengthen South Korea's energy security. The country is one of Asia's largest importers of oil and gas and is diversifying its sources of supply for these resources. According to the publication, the crisis in the Middle East forced South Korean refineries and energy companies to seek alternative supplies of oil and liquefied natural gas, as cargoes were blocked in the Strait of Hormuz.

In June, think tank Ember estimated that South Korea's existing solar and wind capacity could save the country $4.7 billion on fossil fuel imports in 2026. According to its calculations conducted jointly with Global Energy Monitor, at spot prices in early June, the country's annual spending on fossil fuel imports for the entire energy sector could reach $133 billion. Ember estimates that the target of 100 GW of renewable capacity by 2030 could further reduce annual fossil fuel import costs by $12 billion.