South Korea’s GHG emissions rose by 3.5% in 2021, after a 6.2% drop in 2020

South Korea’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions rebounded by 3.5% to 679 MtCO_2eq in 2021, after a 6.2% drop in 2020, according to the country’s Ministry of Environment. It represents a 6.5% decline compared to 2018 level. This increase was mostly driven by industry-related GHG emissions, which rose by 5.2% in 2021, followed by the energy sector (+3.6%), waste disposal (+1.6%) and agriculture (+0.9%).  In 2021, the energy sector accounted for 86.9% of South Korea’s total GHG emissions, followed by industry (7.5%), agriculture (3.1%) and waste disposal (2.5%). The country’s GHG emissions had been rising by an average of 1.1%/year between 2010 and 2018 and peaked at 727 MtCO_2eq in 2018, before experiencing a decrease of 3.6% in 2019. South Korea aims to cut its GHG emissions in 2030 by 40% compared to 2018 levels and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.