South Korea to announce emissions targets this year

UNITED NATIONS - South Korea plans this year to unveil targeted cuts in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the U.N. General Assembly, Lee also said his country intends to invest about two percent of its GDP in "green growth" during the next five years.

South Korea is not obliged to announce targets under the Kyoto Protocol, an international environmental treaty aimed at reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

While more than 180 countries have ratified the treaty, only 37 industrialized countries have agreed to targets to reduce heat-trapping emissions by 2008-12 under a principle that richer countries are mostly to blame for climate change.

Lee said South Korea plans to make a voluntary announcement before the end of the year about its "target emissions cut by the year 2020."

"We hope that our proposals and efforts will contribute positively to successful outcomes at Copenhagen," he said.

Environment ministers from about 190 nations gather in the Danish capital in December to try and agree to a broader global pact to fight climate change.

The aim is to build on the existing Kyoto Protocol by ensuring rich nations sign up to deeper emissions cuts while developing countries also take on greater responsibility for curbing their emissions.

(Source: Reuters)