Emergence of Carbon Labeling:Why all the trouble?

Jiseok KimCommissioned ResearcherAPEC SME Innovation Center

Consequences of a wrong price tag

$100$10

Out of Business

Price of dumping CO2 in atmosphere?

Very low or ZERO

It doesn’t sound like much.

Index Status

Global CO2 concentra-tion

Up by 40% (@393 PPM)

Global temperature Up by 0.7 ℃

Moisture content Up by 5%

Ocean acidity Up by 30%

But consequences can be very expensive

Hurricane Sandy

Everyone knew it was coming…

People had taken measures to prevent damage

Cuba (Oct. 26 2012)

New Jersey, U.S.

New Jersey U.S.

New York, U.S.

Hurricane Sandy damage assessment

The costs could not be avoided

Droughts can be expensive too. And they now last much longer.

2012 UK winter flood with serious economic implications

DEFRA may not renew their agreement for flood defense in 2013.

200,000 homes will have no insurance

No mortgage

Slower economy

It can be like a subprime mortgage crisis

…and UK droughts

Life-threatening

Property-damaging

Dry places get drier. Wet places get wetter

Queensland

Melbourne

Sydney

Queensland: Once in a hundred-year flood in 2010 and 2011

Queensland flood (2010-2011)

Damage: $5.6 billion

$2.8 billion raised for flood relief by budget cuts

$1 billion additional fund by delay-ing infrastructure projects

Flood levy implemented (2011) for everyone who earns more than $50,000 per year

Flood insurance or relief fund be-come mandatory for state govern-ment

Burden on Society

Life without climate change

Life with climate change

Solution:

Implement policies and measures to achieve carbon reduction.

Steady reduction in carbon emission need to be made

Delivery tools

Type Example

Binding National reduction target UK: 80%

Carbon tax Australia: $23 USD (2012-2013)

Cap and Trade on large emitters California, Australia, EU

Vehicle CO2 emission standard US, EU

Dedicated ministryAustralia: Department of Cli-mate Change and Energy Ef-ficiency

New Power plant emissions stan-dard UK: 450g/kwh

National CCS None yet

Zero CO2 electricity future withRenewables, Nuclear power, and Clean fossil fuels

29

2007 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 20500

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

Electricity imports / exports

Non-thermal re-newable generation

Nuclear power

Combustion + CCS

Unabated thermal generation

Domestic demand

TW

h /

yea

r

unabated use (grey) of

fossil fuel must be

gone

National level policies are important but not enough

60 : 40Emission unrelated

to consumer choiceEmission related to consumer choice

Consequences of a wrong price tag

$100

Benefits of carbon label

- Help consumers make more conscious choice

- Raise consumer awareness

- Improve business management

- Enhance business competitiveness

- And more

Carbon label: An important complement to our incomplete price tag

95 kg CO2e

105 kg CO2e 170 kg CO2e

$329 $399 $499

Carbon label: an important factor for b2b business as well

5 kgCO2e

12 kgCO2e

10 kgCO2e

9 kgCO2e

www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-change

It can get much worse if we don’t take action

“The transition to a low-carbon, inclu-sive green economy is happening far too slowly and the opportunity for meet-ing [scientific advice on emissions tar-gets] is narrowing annually,”

- Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP.

Change is happening but happening too slowly

Carbon labeling can accelerate the transition.

Thank you

Contact: brownluv@naver.com