Skip to content
Subscriber Only

South Korea Shuns Coal-Power Financing Amid Rising U.S. Pressure

  • Seoul to halt state-backed financing of overseas coal plants
  • Nation plans to strengthen its Paris emissions cut targets
Moon Jae-in speaks during the virtual climate summit.
Moon Jae-in speaks during the virtual climate summit.Source: White House
Updated on

South Korea will halt state-backed financing of coal-fired power plants overseas and also plans to strengthen its emissions reduction commitment under the Paris agreement.

President Moon Jae-in made the announcement at a virtual climate summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden. The White House is said to have asked South Korea to withdraw from recent coal projects, but the Asian nation will only halt funding for future plants abroad. The country also plans to increase its current target to reduce emissions by 24.4% by 2030 from 2017 levels, in the second half of the year.