The Republic of Korea’s Energy Industry Deputy Minister Cheon Young-gil headed the Korean delegation participating in the 13^th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Energy Ministerial Meeting from August 15-16 held in Seattle, U.S., breaking the eight-year hiatus following the previous APEC energy ministerial meeting.

Korea, the U.S., Canada, Japan, China, Russia, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia and Malaysia were among the 21 economies that gathered to discuss measures for 1) expanding decarbonization using zero carbon sources like nuclear energy, hydrogen and renewables, 2) reducing methane emissions from burning fossil fuels, and 3) achieving a fair and inclusive energy transition.

As Chair, the U.S. has been facilitating talks for practical agenda items, but a specific decarbonization target has yet to be reached due to member states’ differences in opinion.

Deputy Minister Cheon Young-gil of Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) emphasized that carbon-free energy must be deployed according to realistic circumstances by each country in industrial and electrical power sectors. Accordingly, he requested the member states’ interest and support towards Korea’s carbon-free energy utilization promotion program, which will begin in the second half of 2023 as part of the APEC funding project.

Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Cheon exchanged views with his U.S. and Taiwanese counterparts on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting regarding the need for carbon-free energy use and policy cooperation. During talks with Microsoft representatives, he welcomed investment in datacenters in Korea and also encouraged future investment in regions rich in renewable energy sources.