South Korea has ranked seventh in greenhouse gas emissions in the world over the past few years, with its emissions growth rate topping the list of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

2015 will offer an important point for joining the global community’s efforts to prevent disasters due to climate change.

Under the accords of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Korea is obliged to submit its plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions after 2020 by the end of next year.

Each country’s reduction plan will be fixed in place during the world’s meeting in Paris late this year.

The United States has already pledged to scale back its greenhouse gas emissions 28 percent from 2005 levels by 2025, and the European Union plans to unveil its plan during the first quarter.

South Korea, which had planned to submit its plan in September, has been urged to advance the proposal timing.

The Ministry of Environment of Korea said it has launched a task force, composed of government officials, college professors and researchers from think tanks, to effectively respond to calls for the 2015 submission from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

A ministry official reiterated that “38 countries have been carrying out the CO2 emissions trading scheme, while Korea will join the emissions restriction system (in 2015).”

The 38 countries are New Zealand, Kazakhstan, Japan, Canada, China (seven cities and provinces), the U.S. (10 states), and 32 European countries.

The Environment Ministry said in early December that 525 Korean companies would be subject to the emissions restrictions from 2015 to 2017, the first phase of the trading system.

The aggregate quota for the 525 businesses is set at 1.598 billion tons over the next three years. The quota system involves 84 firms in the petrochemicals sector, 40 in steel, 38 in power generation and energy, 24 in automobiles, 20 in electromechanics and electronics and five in airlines.

The scheme will officially take effect in January 2015, and companies that have received their quotas will be allowed file objections within a month of the notification.

“Korea’s cooperation in the concerted efforts to battle global warming could generate fresh economic opportunities, even though some companies express worries over the additional regulatory costs,” said Choi Heung-jin, a director general at the ministry.

After the first phase from 2015 through 2017, the government will impose carbon caps on additional companies in the second phase.

The 525 firms in the first phase take up about 65 percent of the nation’s combined CO2 emissions quota.

The international emissions trading scheme requires businesses to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or buy credits to release more gases if they have difficulty meeting the target levels.

For Korea, businesses that emit less than their caps will be entitled to sell the remaining amount to the Korea Exchange, while other firms exceeding their limits can buy emissions credits on the country’s main bourse.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)