J. Behrendt, M. Borrero, M. George, C. Bertram, A. Rader, D. Churlyaev and R. Cui. (April 2025). “Enhancing Global Ambition for 2035: Evaluating a High Ambition Pathway for Decarbonization in the Republic of Korea.” Center for Global Sustainability, College Park, MD.
To achieve the High Ambition pathway, policy actions in Korea can focus on the following areas to deliver meaningful emissions reductions through 2035, including:
- Power sector: Accelerating renewable deployment with wind and solar contributing 47% of total generation by 2030 and 65% by 2035; canceling new coal and gas projects; and phasing out coal by 2035.
- Industry: Reducing steel emissions through the phase-out of blast furnaces and the deployment of hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnaces (EAF); adopting fuel and material conversion in cement production; and using bio-naphtha as a feedstock for petrochemicals.
- Transportation: Focusing on EVs and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) instead of hybrid cars in the new vehicle sales target with more policy incentives; accelerating bus electrification within cities; and updating building codes for high-rise buildings to include specific requirements for charging infrastructure.
As South Korea prepares to set its next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2035, new research from the Center for Global Sustainability (CGS) at the University of Maryland and Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC) presents a high-ambition, economy-wide pathway to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for South Korea through 2035. Building on CGS’s earlier report, Enhancing Global Ambition for 2035, this is an in-depth country analysis identifying key decarbonization strategies and priority policy actions across sectors for South Korea to strengthen its climate ambition.