Research Report
Ⅰ. Backgrounds and Purposes
▶｢New Growth Strategy 4.0｣ and ｢National Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth｣ presented the common goal of “creating 10 carbon-neutral cities by 2030”
○The New Growth Strategy 4.0 (referred to as the strategy) and the National Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth (referred to as the basic plan) share the common objective of achieving carbon neutrality. In alignment with this shared goal, the responsible government agencies have established a connection between the two initiatives.
○In Korea, discussions on carbon-neutral cities gained momentum following the unveiling of the strategy and the basic plan.
○The “Government's New Growth 4.0 Strategy,” published in December 2022, integrates carbon-neutral cities into the broader objective of bridging digital technological innovation with everyday lifestyle changes.
○As outlined in the basic plan, passed at the Cabinet meeting in April 2023, carbon-neutral cities play a pivotal role in enhancing regional climate resilience. Furthermore, they serve as models for urban carbon neutrality, fostering the creation of spaces where local residents could actively experience carbon-neutral practices in their daily lives. This connection is integral to the plan's implementation.
○The term “carbon-neutral city,” abbreviated in the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth to Cope with Climate Crisis, pertains to “a city that spatially realizes carbon neutrality by actively employing carbon neutrality-related plans and technologies.”
▶Review of legal issues in implementing carbon neutral cities
○Currently, there is no definitive plan for integrating, systematizing, and leveraging the contents of the “Government New Growth 4.0 Strategy” and the “National Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Basic Plan.”
○Consequently, this study delves into the specifics of carbon-neutral cities as outlined in the strategy the basic plan, and the framework act on carbon neutrality. The objective is to identify legal issues that require organization to actualize a carbon-neutral city.
○Initially, the study examines existing laws and institutional frameworks that support the implementation of carbon-neutral cities. It aims to identify ways in which ‘carbon neutral cities’ can actively contribute to achieving the national vision of 2050 carbon neutrality, emphasizing the utilization of carbon neutrality-related plans.
○It's important to note that this study does not aim to define what a carbon-neutral city is but rather conducts an analysis of various policies and plans related to carbon-neutral cities currently underway in Korea. The analysis results inform the identification of critical issues and the determination of necessary support to realize the carbon-neutral city, aligning with the government's presented policy objectives.
Ⅱ. Major Content
▶Shared issues in the New Growth Strategy 4.0 and the National Basic Plan for Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth
○Upon analyzing the contents of both the ‘Government Strategy’ and the ‘Basic Plan,’ it becomes evident that they share four key components: private sector leadership, comprehensive government support, emphasis on specificity, and a focus on technological innovation.
-The fundamental direction outlined in both the strategy and the basic plan exhibits significant similarities. Consequently, even when addressing different sectors, the establishment and implementation of national strategies and plans for distinct purposes are regarded as positive elements. This consistency in promotion is seen as a favorable factor contributing to a unified approach nationwide.
-If an element is consistently implementable for a national policy, it seems applicable when undertaking the detailed policy task of transitioning into a carbon-neutral city.
▶Key issues of carbon neutral cities
○Establishing a carbonneutral city in alignment with the strategy and the basic plan requires the activation of private sector participation and an expansion of its role.
-Private-driven carbon neutral city involves attracting private capital, leveraging its technology, and utilizing private governance.
-To realize private-driven carbon neutral cities, relevant laws and institutions should be enacted.
○Given the interconnected nature of a carbon-neutral city—from the planning phase to technology development and application in people's lives—Relevant agencies should provide comprehensive and integrated support.
-Therefore, it is needed to consider how cross-agency integration support should be organized.
○The fundamental direction of the strategy and the basic plan is to establish specific policies. Therefore, what is needed is to identify and design efficient policy measures directly related to carbon-neutral cities.
○A carbon-neutral city extends beyond the concepts of merely an “environmentally friendly city” or one with “zero net greenhouse gas emissions.” In the context of strategies and plans, due attention must be given to the critical issue of ‘technological innovation.’
○Rather than being an abstract notion, a carbon-neutral city represents a tangible space that can be experienced in daily life.
○Examining the policy objective of establishing 10 carbon-neutral cities by 2030 and the provisions of the act, the key object is to designate and make these cities as carbon-neutral ones by 2030. This designation process must align with the broader goal set by the Carbon Neutrality Act.
○The existing provision of the Carbon Neutral Framework Act about the designation of carbon-neutral cities raise concerns due to the lack of clarity in their purpose. The provision on designation of cities that seek to implement the carbon-neutral city creation project leaves uncertainty about whether the legislative intent is to provide incentives to cities effectively implementing carbon neutrality-related policies or to support those facing challenges in realizing carbon neutrality.
○To consistently promote the designation of carbon-neutral cities in accordance with the framework act on carbon neutrality, it is need to clarify the legal implications of such designation, emphasizing the obligations of national and local governments to establish and implement policies aligning with the law and the overarching goals of carbon neutrality by 2030 outlined in the strategy and the basic plan.
○The collaborative release of the strategy in December 2022 and the basic plan in April 2023, presented jointly by relevant ministries, underscores an integrated approach across agencies emphasizing ‘support’ and highlighting the carbon-neutral city as a key project. In this context, it is not pragmatic for individual agencies to independently establish policies for creating carbon- neutral cities.
▶Legal and institutional support for creating carbon neutral cities
○The legislation of the Framework Act on Carbon Neutral in March 2022 marked the first legal foundation for carbon-neutral cities. Subsequently, the strategy, unveiled in December 2022, followed by the basic plan in April 2023, reinforce the government's commitment to promoting carbon-neutral cities as mandated by law.
○It is crucial to systematize the foundational elements outlined in the law in order to effectively apply the principles derived from the strategy and the basic plan to the creation of a carbon-neutral city and to articulate the necessary support for such an initiative.
○In order to prioritize the social infrastructure required for the creation of a carbon-neutral city within relevant mid- to long-term plans and national investment projects, comprehensive discussions need to be conducted across all relevant government agencies.
○Projects related to carbon-neutral city creation, such as government initiatives involving hydrogen fuel cell power plants and biomass combined heat and power plants, often face challenges like profit structure instability due to new technologies or hurdles in resident acceptance, hindering progress and profitability assurance. To address these challenges, an institutional mechanism should guarantee the profitability of private businesses engaged in such projects.
○Beyond metropolitan areas, it deems necessary to come up with measures to link corporate city development projects under the Special Act on the Development of Enterprise Cities, Development with carbon- neutral cities is necessary. This involves considering additional points for cities where the head of a local government applies jointly with a private company for designation as an enterprise city development zone upon designating a carbon-neutral city. Such cities would be eligible for support and special treatment under the special act.
○To ensure successful implementation of the plan and strategy, consideration should be given to providing local government- owned land to private operators for carbon-neutral city-related projects with private capital. The private sectors should have the management and operation rights for facilities until they recover their investments. It also needs to identify carbon-neutral city creation projects that can guarantee profitability to the private sector and incorporate them into the designation criteria.
○Measures should be taken to integrate key elements of carbon- neutral city into various projects by aligning with relevant laws and regulations when undertaking initiatives to create carbon- neutral cities
○Policies related to carbon sinks should be tailored to the specific scope of the carbon-neutral city implementation target. Decisions need to be made on whether regions already in a negative (-) emission state should be excluded from the carbon-neutral city policy application. Alternatively, incentives could be provided to regions with negative (-) emissions, designating them as carbon-neutral cities at the national level.
Ⅲ. Expected Effects
▶Examining legal Issues Necessary to Realize a Carbon-Neutral City
○Outcomes of examining legislative issues would be useful for proactively addressing aspects pertinent to the designation of a carbon-neutral city and organizing related issues in advance.
-As it examined legal issues concerning carbon-neutral cities in accordance with the strategies and the basic plans, this study would be utilized in designating carbon-neutral cities and formulating policies in the future.
○Using as a reference for future discussions on legislation enhancement to realize a carbon-neutral city.
-The title of this study is decided as “Legal Issues” rather than “Measures to Improve Legislation to Realize a Carbon-Neutral City” because there are no sufficient data and it is not proper to discuss improvement measures at this stage.
-As efforts to prepare measures for enhancing the legal system required to create a carbon-neutral city continue in the future, this study would be used as reference.