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South Korea
OpinionComment
Min Hyung-bae
Min Hyung-bae

How South Korean collaboration with Biden’s America can create green energy jobs to benefit the planet

  • If Biden’s prioritises the 2035 net-zero emissions target, it can be a global game-changer for renewable energy
  • Cooperation with South Korea which, like the US, has great wind power potential, should be a priority

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Wind turbines at a wind farm in Jeju, South Korea, in 2017. President Moon Jae-in has made a strong commitment to replace coal with renewable energy. Photo: Bloomberg
Min Hyung-bae
Relief swept across South Korea when Joe Biden was elected US president. His victory was sweeter for being built on a clean-energy-revolution platform. If the United States becomes a solar and wind powerhouse, it will drive down emissions and create jobs.

If Biden prioritises the 2035 net-zero target for America’s utilities and helps offshore wind power take off, it will be a global game-changer for renewable energy, making the US very fertile ground for more investment and jobs.

As a lawmaker in South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party, I congratulate Biden, Vice-President Kamala Harris and their party on winning, in part, by prioritising climate action. South Korea and America have strong historic bonds, and our bilateral relations could help us create green jobs. This collaboration should be top of the agenda, including when President Biden meets South Korean President Moon Jae-in to address the equally threatening nuclear arms issue.
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President Moon has committed to replacing coal with renewable energy. In the coming decade, solar and wind power will change the world. It will eclipse the mobile phone and internet revolutions, and help provide the greatest concrete solutions to stopping fossil-fuel-driven climate change from destroying our planet.

Like South Korea, the US has incredible potential in offshore wind energy. Its coasts could generate more than 2,000 gigawatts of electricity, almost double the national consumption. With control of the Senate, President Biden can make offshore wind a priority and create many more jobs while tapping an endless and clean energy.
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Europe’s giant utilities seem to be piling in, in anticipation of new deals. Clear political signals matter, so we are watching the US Democratic Party with great interest.

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President Biden signs first-day executive orders for US return to Paris climate accord, WHO and more

President Biden signs first-day executive orders for US return to Paris climate accord, WHO and more
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