Coal shunned in Korea as IPCC meets to finalise 1.5 degrees report
In response to news that South Korea’s Chungcheongnam-do province has joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance and two South Korean pension funds, Teachers Pension and Government Employees Pension System, have announced an end to coal financing, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, Jennifer Morgan, said:
“These decisions inspire real hope that we will act in time to avoid catastrophe, sending a clear signal across the region that the end of coal has arrived. We are up against an unprecedented and daunting task to rein in global emissions to meet the Paris goals and it requires a response from us all.
“In a year of record summer temperatures in Korea and extreme weather impacts across the globe, we are in a race against time. As the IPCC meets in Korea to finalise its special report on 1.5 degrees Celsius, these decisions throw a challenge to the Moon government to also increase its climate ambition to become Paris compatible.
“Korea is also a key investor into coal power in developing countries, currently ranked 5th among G20 countries for overseas coal investment. We call on Korea’s top public financial institutions – KEXIM, K-SURE, and KDB Bank – to also end their overseas coal investments.
“What we need is governments across the world and financial institutions to outline a clear end-date for coal – that’s 2030 for OECD countries – and stop the financing of the world’s dirtiest, climate-destroying fuel. That time is now.”
Source: Greenpeace International
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