Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn held the Carbon Free Energy (CFE) Initiative Conference on July 16 in Seoul to review the CFE Initiative’s achievements and plans and to gather opinions from experts.

 

The CFE Initiative is a global campaign which aims for the decarbonization of electricity (Scope 2) by utilizing carbon-free energy sources including renewables, nuclear, and hydrogen, as well as the decarbonization of industrial process (Scope 1) by transitioning to carbon-free fuels and feedstocks. Initially introduced by President Yoon Suk Yeol during his keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2023, the CFE Initiative has so far received the official support of eight countries, including the UK, France, and Japan.

 

Based on the international community’s common understanding of the need to utilize various carbon-free energy sources, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) will co-host the World Climate Industry Expo 2024 (WCE 2024) in Busan this September. In particular, alongside WCE 2024, MOTIE plans to launch a Korea-Japan CFE Working Session in conjunction with Japan. In the following October, MOTIE will also launch a “CFE Global Working Group” jointly with other countries on the sidelines of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) to be held in Brazil and commence on establishing the CFE certification scheme, which includes the specific scope as well as procurement and certification methods of carbon-free energy.

 

Companies who attended the conference pointed out that international standards for recognizing businesses’ efforts to achieve carbon neutrality are either yet to be developed or still ill-designed, making it difficult for businesses to establish net zero strategies. In this respect, the companies emphasized the need for establishing an internationally-acceptable CFE certification scheme by pursuing public-private as well as intergovernmental cooperation. 

 

Chairman of the CF Alliance, Mr. Hoesung Lee stressed that, as the CFE Initiative promotes the comprehensive use and development of a wide range of carbon-free energy sources, the Initiative will be able to attract the participation of both manufacturing-oriented countries and developing countries and accelerate the achievement of net zero on a global scale.

 

Minister Ahn mentioned that MOTIE will expedite the establishment of CFE Initiative certification scheme with a view to enhancing the competitiveness of Korea’s advanced and key industries as well as achieving net zero and taking the lead in global climate action.