The “ coal capital of Korea ” – a responsibility that ’s home to some of the orotund coal plants in the world – has pledged to reduce its ties with fossil fuels and transition towards a cleaner , unripened energy production .
Chungnam province is where you’re able to find 30 of South Korea ’s 61 coal - fired mightiness plants , include the second and third prominent coal industrial plant in the humans . In a monolithic determination , the region has of late decide to join thePowering Past Coal Alliance ( PPCA ) , a alinement of countries , states , and big businesses working to transition aside from coal towards renewable DOE .
Among its ranks in the PPCA are Canada , the UK , France , Italy , and 70 other national political science , as well as numerous US state including California , New York , and Washington . Chungnam is the first and only legal power from Asia to join the alliance so far . Considering that Chungnam pump out 24.7 percentage of the nation ’s greenhouse gas emission – and employ about doubly as much ember mightiness as the whole of Canada – the decision is a pretty enceinte deal .
The move was officially pledged on Tuesday , October 2 by the Governor of Chungnam , Seung - Jo Yang , at an declaration hold in Buyeo , South Korea , attended by IFLScience . Building on the work of previous governments , the signed contract wassail to convert 14 of Chungnam power plants into environmentally - favorable baron plants by 2026 . By 2050 , they are aiming to have zero ember - fired index plants in the neighborhood .
“ Today , Chungnam is no longer a coal cap , ” Jennifer Lee Morgan , Executive Director of Greenpeace , state in a speech at the conference .
“ The declaration by Chungnam is all the more meaningful because it is the first of any sort not only in Korea , but across Asia as a whole . ”
Beyond the mountains of carbon emissions develop by the area ’s coal plants , serious business organisation have been raise about the health of the people living nearby and the local environment . The political decision to transition towards clean energy in Chungnam was , in no modest part , first pushed by the local people living within the shadow of the responsibility ’s monumental coal - fire powerfulness plants .
Many of the resident live near the Dangjin coal - fire industrial plant – one of the largest coal power stations in the world – have used grassroots activism to curb the power plant ’s expansion with some surprising success . Over 60 percent of the energy produced in Dangjin is take by the Seoul metropolitan arena , some 75 kilometers ( 46 miles ) forth , however , the locals take the brunt of the ember plant ’s presence .
“ Everything is black from the ember , ” one aged house physician told IFLScience . “ Our rice rice paddy , our field , our produce . ”
“ We ’ve get so many cancer patients in our hamlet , ” said another resident . “ We ’ve had people recrudesce skin rashes , others have pain in their eyes . ”
“ There are only 400 people exist here , but 25 out of 400 have develop malignant neoplastic disease , ” he add . “ That ’s means above the national norm . ”
Last twelvemonth , the people of Chungnam took part in a survey where the majority of respondents report a serious fear about the damage stimulate by the local power place . As such , they demanded the area transition off from coal , even if it does imply a poor - terminal figure increment in their Energy Department bills .
Now Chungnam has got the formal rolling with their decision to conjoin the PPCA , there are high hopes they could trip similar movement across South Korea , Asia , and beyond .
