“18% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in our country come from vehicle emissions,” says Dr. Kim Byung-gwon, a researcher at the Green Transition Institute.
On the 3rd, I interviewed Dr. Kim for an hour near Hapjeong, Seoul. He previously served as the head of the Justice Policy Research Institute affiliated with the Justice Party, the director of Seoul’s Innovation Center, and the advisor for co-governance. He is currently a research fellow at the Green Transition Institute. His publications include ‘1.5-Degree Economic Style’ and ‘Green New Deal Against Climate Crisis and Inequality.’
Dr. Kim stated, “The greenhouse gas emissions in our country peaked at 700 million tons in 2018, and currently, it remains at about 650 million tons, decreasing by 1% each year. While emissions are decreasing in South Korea, carbon emissions are increasing globally.”
While South Korea’s carbon emissions are gradually falling, emissions from vehicles have not seen a similar decline. Dr. Kim revealed that “the carbon emissions from vehicles in our country account for 18% of all carbon emissions (117 million tons).”
To address the increasing number of cars and emissions, the Seoul city government recently established a climate co-travel card. However, Dr. Kim proposed stronger policies.
“It’s not enough just to create a climate co-travel card. We need to ensure that people are dissuaded from using cars. In Paris, for instance, they are restricting parking for cars in the city center and converting car lanes into bicycle-only lanes.”
In summary, he argues that we need to foster a perception that driving is disadvantageous, thus inhibiting car use among the public.
His explanation goes as follows: “The use of private vehicles has become a sort of ingrained habit. Transitioning from car use to public transit is not an easy task. Retail companies build large supermarkets in the outskirts, and it has become a culture for people to shop with their private cars every weekend. People end up making unnecessary large purchases by driving their cars to these supermarkets. Just building more roads or expanding public transportation won’t lead people to give up their cars. Ultimately, we need to create a culture where people can live walking distances from their homes without using cars.”
For this, he suggests that “urban planning should be designed so that areas within a radius of 2-3 km discourage car use and promote only walking and public transport.” He stressed the need to shift our car-centric cities to be more people-centric. “Seoul lacks sufficient resting space for both people and cars. We need to use that space efficiently. In Europe, they have entirely reduced parking lots and roads in the city center. We are still in a culture that encourages the use of more cars. There should be more spaces for people, not cars. Although we built roads and bought cars to save time, it hasn’t sped up our commutes; we find ourselves overwhelmed with even more work. If we want a prosperous life for everyone, we need policies that restrict car usage.”
What would be the impact if we reduce car usage?
“Even if we think about the environment by carrying tumblers and sorting waste, we barely reduce 1 ton. However, by limiting car usage, we can achieve a carbon reduction effect of up to 2 tons,” he explained.
However, merely encouraging public transport usage is not the sole solution. It requires policy support backing it up.
“People not currently using public transport often cite convenience issues. It needs to be convenient to use and arrive on time. However, the current situation of public transport does not support this. Active policies to increase public transport capacity must be implemented, alongside asserting demands from citizens towards administrators.”
Byung-gwon Kim, email: daedusj@autodiary.kr