Issue Expanding decarbonisation of energy-demand sectors

Summary

Industry such as steel and petrochemicals, transport by road, sea and air, and residential and commercial buildings account for about half of global carbon emissions. Decarbonising them requires developing and commercialising disruptive technologies that go beyond efficiency gains, including carbon-free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia, feedstock switching, carbon capture, electrification, zero-energy buildings and smart operating systems. Stronger national targets after the Paris Agreement make real reductions in these sectors urgent, and carbon trade rules such as the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism link decarbonisation technology directly to export competitiveness. Competition has moved from research to large-scale demonstration and commercialisation, with hydrogen-based steelmaking plants, electric naphtha crackers, clean-fuel ships, sustainable aviation fuel mandates and stricter building energy rules spreading. Korea must pursue industrial process change, transport fuel switching and building energy innovation simultaneously to secure both energy security and manufacturing competitiveness, which calls for packages combining R&D with standards, certification, procurement and finance.