According to a press release on March 12, South Korea plans to cut down their greenhouse gas emissions and will be setting a target for this reduction within the year. The plan, in its initial phase, includes some voluntary cuts from the major industries.

To date, the parliament has yet to pass their version of the green growth bill. In this regard, the South Korean government is also looking into the possibility of introducing emissions trading. This is because the government is aiming at a more realistic and plausible reduction targets that will not only make their environment better but also reflect their national capacity and directions. According to Kim Sang-hyup, secretary to the President for National Future and Vision, the government wanted to make the plan measurable, reportable, and verifiable.

South Korea's interest to devise a law on emissions and alternative fuel and a plan to reduce their emissions are partly fueled by the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol aims to curb the greenhouse gas pollution among signatory nations from 2008 to 2012.

However, South Korea has one concern regarding this plan: winning over the heavy industries such as steel producers, shipbuilders, and car-makers. To address this, the government has decided that for the initial phase, they will hold a series of discussions with the industry sectors in order to encourage them to cooperate and to eventually win their support. Kim said that this is the so-called “voluntary way”. The term “voluntary” has been coined because, at the initial stage, there are no legal or binding agreements between the government and the industries. It is only after this phase that the South Korean government will have the option to make legally binding measures in accordance to the law on green growth, which is yet to be approved by the government.