대학신문방송국

Gimme Carbon Credit 

By Woo Jung-kyu Reporter, Junior of Industrial Engineering

Recently, the ecosystem was destroyed because of global warming. For example, polar bears are losing their homes and plants are blooming earlier. Why does global warming occur? To put it simply, global warming occurs when the concentration of greenhouse gases increases. Carbon dioxide (CO2) in greenhouse gases takes up 80 percent of human activities all around the world. Therefore, we can recognize that greenhouse gases from human activities are CO2. For decades, global warming was accelerated because CO2 concentration in the atmosphere increased rapidly caused by human industrial activity. The increase of extreme weather and natural disasters due to global warming is causing massive damage to human life and property. Carbon emission reduction will be essential to solve these problems, for this carbon credits has been implemented.

Carbon credits

Carbon credits are not only the right to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide, but also one of the policies to reduce carbon emission, as a right published by a government or an international organization. That purpose is to control and reduce carbon emissions in various areas such as power generation, industry and transportation.

Despite, exceeding the permitted amount often occurs despite efforts to reduce carbon emissions. How does the conglomerate cope with that case? Using the carbon credit trading system is a solution for it. The images below will help you to understand the carbon credit trading system. Carbon credits are issued by the UN, that can be traded freely like products in the market. In Korea, it has been implemented since January 1, 2015.

▼Example of Carbon credits trading system

The carbon emissions purchased by each company will be different.

Company A exceeds emissions, Company B remains behind.

The form in which Company A purchases emission rights from Company C is carbon emission trading.

Carbon credit market rolls as an economic stimulus to a company or country. A company that cannot reduce emissions will have to buy extra emissions, so it will cause an economic burden. Therefore, a company will put in more efforts such as development and investment in technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Also, countries or companies that get profits from the carbon credit market can invest in reducing carbon emissions or use them to develop eco-friendly technologies, creating a win-win situation in which environmental preservation and economic development can occur at the same time. Let’s see which company is using which technologies to reduce carbon emissions.

The first is LG Chem’s ‘LinStorage battery.’ The linstorage battery is a type of lithium-ion battery, an eco-friendly energy storage system, and a system that can store and efficiently use energy generated by solar power and wind power. The lean storage battery is a module form made by combining several types of battery cells, and performs power conversion and storage functions in combination with a power control device having energy storage and control functions. These lean storage batteries are connected to existing power plants and power grids and play a major role in increasing the stability of power supply and demand. By storing electricity produced by solar or wind power plants through lean storage batteries and supplying it to the power grid when necessary, energy can be used efficiently, increasing power supply stability and reducing carbon emissions.

The second is SK Innovation’s carbon reduction technology ‘CCS.’ CCS technology collects carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and stores it in an underground water layer, which plays a major role in preventing global warming by effectively managing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere as well as reducing carbon emissions. SK Innovation is focusing on reducing corporate carbon emissions by utilizing these CCS technologies. For example, SK Innovation’s Ulsan Petrochemical Complex collects more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year by installing CCS equipment. It is also making efforts to develop carbon-neutral steel production technology.

The third is Samsung Electronics ‘Digital inverter technology.’ Digital inverter technology is a technology that controls motors used in home appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators. The existing motor control method uses DC power, and in this case, the power consumption was high because power supply had to be continuously performed. However, using digital inverter technology, the motor can be controlled by alternating current power. Therefore, when measuring motor speed, the optimal power is calculated in an easier way to drive the motor, which reduces power consumption by up to 50 percent. Accordingly, Samsung Electronics can obtain the effect of reducing power consumption and carbon emission in home appliances. Since home appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators use electricity all day long, it is very important to reduce power consumption. By applying digital inverter technology, power consumption can be reduced, electricity bills can be reduced, and it is also of great help in protecting the global environment.

The fourth is the ‘CO2 collection technology for blue hydrogen production’ by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology. This technology aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are the cause of global warming, by collecting CO2 generated by producing hydrogen using fossil fuels, and consists of two main stages. The first step is to collect CO2 generated by thermal power plants and industries. To this end, the researcher is developing various CO2 capture technologies. Representative technologies include ammonia condensation technology, ammonia pyrolysis technology, and methanation reaction technology. The second step is to produce hydrogen using the collected CO2. It is developing a technology to produce blue hydrogen by combining the collected CO2 with hydrogen. Such blue hydrogen is a clean fuel in itself and can also be used in combination with hydrogen fuel conversion technology. CO2 capture technology plays a major role in research and technology development for a sustainable environment. 

Like this, countries and various companies are making an effort for carbon neutrality to reduce carbon emissions through carbon credits. But efforts for carbon neutrality are important not only at the national level, but also at the individual level. Reducing carbon emissions by individuals is a lot of great help to countermeasures at the national level. In order to reduce carbon emissions for individuals, we have to think of and practice various ways. Let me tell you five representative ways of practice.

First, energy conservation is one of the easiest ways for an individual to do it. In everyday life, you can save energy by replacing lights with LED or reducing habitual electricity consumption. In addition, when using air conditioners and heaters, just lowering or raising the temperature by about 1℃  can have a very great energy saving effect.

Second, using public transportation is also very helpful in reducing carbon emissions. Thinking about transportation, such as using public transportation or riding a bicycle instead of a car, can reduce emissions from personal car use.

Third, improving eating habits is very important in reducing carbon emissions. It is important to eat more vegetables or fruits instead of meat, and to actively recycle leftovers from life. Through this, you can enjoy the effect of reducing carbon emissions due to improved eating habits.

Fourth, recycling plays a major role in reducing carbon emissions. It is important to separate and recycle paper, glass, metal, etc. Through this, you can enjoy the effect of reducing carbon emissions due to recycling.

Fifth, it is important to use eco-friendly products. Using detergents, eco-friendly cosmetics, and eco-bags with low chemical ingredients can reduce carbon emissions.

In addition, as shown in the picture below, there are many ways that we can practice reducing carbon emissions in our daily lives. Countries and companies are also realizing the seriousness of carbon emissions and making great efforts. Therefore, let’s realize their hard work, practice carbon neutrality in our daily lives, and overcome global warming together!