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Carbon neutrality is no easy promise to keep

Published: 04 May. 2026, 00:03

Lee Duck-hwan

The author is an honorary professor at Sogang University.

The shock from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is striking Korea’s economy in unexpected ways. The disruption is not limited to crude oil and naphtha. Supplies of Middle Eastern fertilizer, particularly urea, which had accounted for about 30 percent of global trade, have also been cut off. Prices at the dinner table are already rising. Pork belly, a staple food, has become prohibitively expensive, while beef, chicken and eggs have climbed by around 15 percent.

A general view shows exhaust gases billowing from the chimneys of the Taean Thermal Power Station, a large coal-fired power station owned by Korean Western Power, part of Korea Electric Power Corporation, in Taean, around 150 kilometers from Seoul, on November 17, 2025. [AFP/YONHAP]

As the government scrambles to respond to the supply chain breakdown triggered by the Middle East conflict, it has abruptly announced plans to accelerate a sweeping energy transition. It argues that the current crisis should be turned into an opportunity. By 2030, it aims to expand solar and wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts. The goal is to correct Korea’s heavy dependence on the Middle East, which supplies about 70 percent of its crude oil and 35 percent of its naphtha, while transforming the country into a leading renewable energy nation that spearheads carbon neutrality.

Carbon neutrality, or net zero, first appeared as a national policy objective in October 2020, when then President Moon Jae-in delivered a budget speech to the National Assembly. The administration, which had been committed to a nuclear phaseout policy, belatedly declared that it would join global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In November 2021, at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, it pledged to cut emissions by 40 percent by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Media coverage at the time often failed to distinguish clearly between carbon neutrality and a complete rejection of carbon itself.

It is true that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are increasing rapidly and that the Earth’s atmosphere is warming. However, carbon itself did not drive indiscriminate consumption or waste. Nor is there any guarantee that abandoning fossil fuels would cool the planet and restore it to a previous state. Placing the blame for human error and misuse on carbon is an overly simplistic and even evasive approach.

Among the 118 elements identified so far, carbon is the sixth lightest, and its chemical diversity is remarkable. Of the roughly 290 million compounds registered with the American Chemical Society, the overwhelming majority are carbon based. This diversity stems from the stability and size of carbon’s atomic nucleus as well as the unique quantum mechanical properties of its six electrons.

Carbon is not especially abundant in the universe. It accounts for only about 0.29 percent of the mass of the sun and is merely the 12th most common element on Earth. In living organisms, however, the situation is entirely different. Approximately 18 percent of the human body consists of carbon. After oxygen, which forms water and accounts for about 65 percent of body weight, carbon is by far the most abundant element. All cells in the human body are built from carbon compounds. Enzymes that enable biological functions are carbon compounds, and so are carbohydrates and fats that supply energy. DNA and RNA, which carry the genetic information essential for the continuity of life, are also carbon based. Even hypothetical extraterrestrial life forms are widely expected to depend on carbon.

Carbon is also the element of civilization. Humans began using cellulose, a carbon compound found in wood, to make fire about 500,000 years ago. Around 12,000 years ago, agriculture and animal husbandry began through the manipulation of DNA, another carbon compound. Carbon enabled humans to generate light and heat and to produce food. It also made possible the evolution of civilization itself. Charcoal and coal, both forms of carbon, fueled the Bronze and Iron Ages. The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century was driven by steam engines powered by coal, and the development of modern civilization in the 20th century was made possible by the widespread use of petroleum. Today, textiles, plastics, dyes, pharmaceuticals, paper and explosives are all carbon based. In this sense, the civilization we enjoy today can be described as a carbon civilization.

Kumho Petrochemical Yeosu Rubber Plant 2 in South Jeolla [Kumho Petrochemical]

Since the late 20th century, alternative energy technologies that do not rely on carbon containing fossil fuels have emerged, including nuclear, hydroelectric, solar and wind power. Hydrogen has also been proposed as a promising alternative fuel, and the potential of nuclear fusion has been increasingly explored. Even so, it is unrealistic to assume that fossil fuels such as oil can be completely abandoned. Aviation fuel used for long distance flights cannot easily be replaced, and it is difficult to supply all industrial heat demand with electricity alone. Carbon based materials used in plastics, consumer chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers are also indispensable.

In fact, demand for carbon materials is projected to double by 2050. It is therefore necessary to develop new alternatives that can supply such materials without relying on traditional fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas. This will require actively utilizing carbon not only from the atmosphere and plants but also from plastics and biological and industrial waste. A circular economy that maximizes resource recycling is essential. In particular, technologies that make effective use of biomass and lignocellulosic materials, as well as advanced recycling methods for waste plastics, are urgently needed.

The roughly 900 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere should not be regarded as something to be discarded, but rather as a valuable resource. Carbon is not an evil that must be eliminated. Instead, greater attention should be paid to sustainable green chemistry that minimizes the impact on humans and the environment across the entire process of resource production, transportation and consumption. Ultimately, fostering a new carbon culture that supports the continued survival and prosperity of humanity is a pressing task of our time.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.