Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), International Energy Agency (IEA), Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), and the CF Alliance launched the CFE Summit today at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) with the participation of high-level figures, experts, and business leaders from around the world.

Part of the World Climate Industry EXPO (WCE 2024) held under the theme of "Ushering in a Carbon-Free Energy (CFE) Era with Climate Technology,” the CFE Summit consisted of the CFE Leaders Roundtable, Korea-IEA Forum, and the CFE Initiative.

The CFE Leaders Roundtable was attended by MOTIE’s Vice Minister Namho Choe, KCCI Chairman Chey Tae-won, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, Busan Mayor Park Heong-Joon, CF Alliance Chairman Lee Hoe-sung, and Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Co-Chairperson Kim Sang-hyup, alongside the representatives of 30 embassies to Korea, 24 national delegations, and those of 10 international organizations and companies.

Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo shared a video message highlighting that carbon-free energy sources, in view of their eco-friendliness and stability, are the solution to dealing with the rising power demand across AI and advanced industries. He pledged that the Government will increase the share of carbon-free energy sources in Korea’s energy mix from 40 percent (as of 2023) to 70 percent by 2038, legislate special laws on power grid expansion, and give full measure to facilitating the R&D of core technologies and manpower training.

Next, the Korea-IEA Forum jointly organized by MOTIE and IEA was attended by IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol, MOTIE’s Vice Minister Namho Choe, Japan’s Director General for International Policy on Carbon Neutrality Kihara Shinichi at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), IEA Chief Energy Economist Tim Gould, and representatives of 20 embassies to Korea.

IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol gave a congratulatory message stating that it is essential to harness all technologies and energy sources, including nuclear, clean hydrogen, and CCUS (carbon capture, utilization, and storage) in attaining carbon neutrality by 2050, underscoring that the CFE Initiative is a good example of the necessary leadership for maintaining energy security while also realizing climate goals. 

Vice Minister Choe also gave a congratulatory speech forecasting that the carbon-free energy joint statement issued by Korea and IEA will help accelerate the CFE Initiative’s global diffusion and carbon neutrality achievement by 2050. The panel discussion had experts exchange views on financial models for supporting carbon-free energy technologies, clean hydrogen expansion, and carbon-free energy cooperation in the APEC region.

Lastly, the CFE Initiative Conference organized by the CF Alliance was attended by CF Alliance Chairman Lee Hoe-sung, India’s The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) Director General Vibha Dhawan, President and CEO of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) Whang Joo-ho, and IEA Chief Energy Economist Tim Gould, among approximately 1,000 global experts.

During talks with CF Alliance Chairman Lee Hoe-sung, TERI Director General Vibha Dhawan maintained that Korea should contribute to mitigating the clean energy technology gap between advanced and developing countries through the CFE Initiative and decarbonization based on its leadership in clean energy technology and climate crisis response.

In the subsequent panel discussion, experts opined that the CFE Initiative is a public-private cooperative system through which private sectors’ various carbon neutrality needs can be incorporated into the government support programs. They called for the prompt establishment of CFE implementation standards and shared the anticipation that factoring in major industries’ respective characteristics in the standard establishment process—for not only electricity (Scope 2) but also for industrial processes (Scope 1)—will massively expand the range of carbon neutrality options for companies.

MOTIE plans to launch a public-private global working group on the margins of the upcoming Clean Energy Ministerial 2024 slated for October in Brazil to initiate discussions on establishing CFE implementation standards.