Good morning, fellow Koreans,

I hope all of you enjoyed the long Lunar New Year holidays with your family.

It was fortunate that the cold weather eased when the holidays began. We have had an unusually cold winter this year. This cold spell was the longest in 104 years since meteorological record keeping started in Korea. Instead of a cycle of three cold days and four warm days, the typical Korean winter weather, some people now call it “three cold days and four freezing days.”

It seems that Korea is not the only country that is suffering due to abnormal weather conditions. In Brazil, a severe drought has shrunk the Amazon River to its lowest level in 108 years. In other parts of the country, huge floods took the lives of more than 1,400 people. China has also been hit by the worst winter drought in 40 years. Last summer, the country sustained an enormous economic loss amounting to approximately 85 trillion won because of torrential rains.

Behind such abnormal weather conditions across the globe is unprecedented climate change, including global warming. In the process of drastic industrialization, carbon dioxide in the air has increased dramatically and caused the earth to get hotter, like someone getting a fever when they are sick.

Last year was the hottest year in the history of meteorological records. In Japan, more than 500 people died of heatstroke last summer. During the same period, the death toll in Russia reached approximately 15,000.

Over the past 10,000 years, the average earth temperature never changed more than one degree centigrade. The average temperature, however, has risen by 0.74 degrees centigrade during the most recent 100 years. It is forecast that a two-degree temperature rise from the current level would lead to the extinction of 20 percent of species living on earth. In the 20 years since 1990, climate disasters have incurred a death toll of 650,000 and 2,400 trillion won in property damage.

It may sound paradoxical, but global warming also caused this year’s winter cold wave. The unusually warm temperatures in the Arctic region pushed the polar jet stream, which is supposed to contain the cold air, down to the south and brought severe cold. 

Abnormal temperatures forced crop prices to skyrocket around the world, wreaking havoc on impoverished people. In India, the onion crop has been drastically reduced because of abnormal rainfall in onion producing regions. As a result, onion prices have quadrupled from last fall, causing demonstrations on the streets.

Climate change is posing fundamental challenges not only to the ecosystem but also to industries and lifestyles in general. A delayed response may inevitably cause catastrophes on a global scale. This is the very reason why the Government has adopted green growth as its new strategy for national development and is proactively implementing it.

Given the generally accepted view that continued economic growth inevitably results in the destruction of the environment, green growth is a novel idea. It seeks to protect the environment while promoting economic growth by creating new job opportunities and growth engines through green technologies and clean energy.

France announced that it would adopt green growth as the core agenda topic at the G8 Summit to be held in Deauville, France, in May this year as was done at the G20 Summit in Seoul. In his State of the Union Address, President Obama also remarked that the United States would actively promote the clean energy industry as a national strategy. Through this initiative, the United States plans to source 80 percent of its electricity from clean energy in 15 years. Denmark has also made public an epoch-making vision of becoming the first nation in the world to become 100 percent fossil fuel-free by 2050. China also chose green industries as a strategically important sector in its bid to catch up with advanced nations. It is now making sizable investments in this area. Green growth is thus emerging as a new yardstick to measure national competitiveness.

The pursuit of green growth, however, entails lots of challenges. The overall lifestyle that has so far depended on fossil fuels has to go through fundamental changes. Korea already announced to the world its goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 30 percent by 2020 relative to the “business as usual” (BAU) scenario. To this end, Korea introduced the greenhouse gas and energy target management system last year. Under this system, each business has to set targets for greenhouse gas reduction and energy conservation. Based on the assessment of the targets set by businesses, the Government will encourage them to fulfill their promises. 

In addition, the Government is planning to introduce the emissions trading scheme at an opportune time after thoroughly sounding out the opinions of industries. A business that emits greenhouse gases more than its allocated target will have to purchase carbon credits while those businesses that emit less than their limit will be compensated. The Government will implement the scheme in a flexible manner considering international trends and industrial competitiveness.

Some people worry that policies for energy saving and reduction of greenhouse gases might lead to a substantial burden on the economy. However, if that path is inevitable, we need to be leaders in taking it. We need to maintain a positive attitude and try to find a solution to the problem so that we can open up great opportunities in this era of climate change.

The internationally renowned professor, Nicholas Stern, said that due to climate change, a second industrial revolution is beginning with clean energy at its center. He added that if Korea continues to carry out green growth policies consistently, it would emerge as a new center of the world economy.

Korea’s climate change policy received high praise at the Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Cancun, Mexico at the end of last year, and was ranked as the second best out of 57 countries. The Four Major Rivers Restoration Project is also highly recognized in the international community. The UN Environment Programme announced that Korea’s Four Rivers Project is an exemplary model of environment-friendly endeavors as well as an efficient means of coping with climate change.

There is a saying that “water can only be replaced by water.” The core idea behind the Four Rivers Project lies in minimizing flood damage stemming from climate change while securing water resources in a stable manner.

Fellow Koreans,

In this effort, Government policy measures are crucial, but no less important is the need to change our everyday habits. Because of the cold wave this winter, consumption of electricity has hit a record high, and the red light is on in the nation’s power supply. When extensive use of air-conditioners is necessitated in the summer, the nation is likely to experience the same kind of problem.

Saving energy in everyday life represents an effective means for overcoming high oil prices as well as a best practice for low-carbon green growth. In fact, saving energy has now become a most important means of securing energy along with fossil fuels and the new and renewable energies.

Like the saying goes, “Think globally and act locally.” We need to acquire the habit of actually doing little things while being mindful of the future of planet Earth and humanity. Saving starts with individuals. I hope you will be the first to begin.

When individuals start doing little things—like cutting down on the consumption of paper cups and reducing the use of electric heaters—the world will be able to find a clue to resolving the crisis of climate change.

Fellow citizens,

I wish you the start of a wonderful new week to start off a wonderful lunar new year.

Thank you very much.