Tracing 12 Years of Korea's Coal Finance Addiction
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Member of the National Assembly Wonyoung YangYi Tracing 12 Years of Korea’s Coal Finance Addiction Whitepaper on Coal Finance by Korean Financial Institution Korea Sustainability Investing Forum www.kosif.org Korea Sustainability Investing Forum is a non-profit organization founded in 2007 for the purpose of contributing to building a sustainable society through the promotion of socially responsible investments (SRIs), and it has been carrying out various activities to this end. The Forum has also organized and operated the CDP Korea Committee to promote environmental response among domestic financial institutions and companies. Wonyoung YangYi, Member, National Assembly Republic of Korea www.yangyi.kr Wonyoung YangYi is a proportional representative of the 21st National Assembly and is currently a member of Member of the National Assembly the Environmental Labor Committee and the Budget and Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. She is Wonyoung YangYi also serving as Chairman of the Democratic Party’s Special Environment Committee and a research fellow of the National Assembly’s Climate Crisis Green New Deal Research Group. In preparation for this report, the Office of National Assemblywoman Wonyoung YangYi secured data and materials concerning public financial institutions through the National Assembly’s. For private financial institutions, the office collected data by requesting cooperation from associations and individual financial companies. Consequently, the information on the investments made in domestic and foreign coal-fired power generation projects of 162 public and private financial institutions in Korea was secured, and this data was provided to Korea Sustainability Investing Forum. Greenpeace www.greenpeace.org Greenpeace raises environmental issues through peaceful protests and creative communication while presenting solutions for a clean and peaceful future. It operates 40 offices across the globe. Greenpeace also strives to protect marine and tropical rainforests, remove toxic substances, respond to climate change, overhaul nuclear power plants, and oppose genetically modified food, among other environmental work. Since 1971, they have led environmental movements against political forces and businesses that threaten the planet Earth. The Greenpeace organization consists of scientists, lawyers, activists, policy, and communications experts. Based on this, they carry out various campaigns such as research, policy advocacy, civic education, lobbying activities, and legal work. For more information, please visit www.greenpeace.org/korea. Disclaimer © 2020 KoSIF, Greenpeace All rights reserved. The content of this white paper is prepared based on the data provided by the Member of the National Assembly Wonyoung YangYi. Please be advised that this material does not guarantee nor promise any profit. The information contained herein is prepared based on that which was acquired from sources trusted by Korea Sustainability Investing Forum (KoSIF). However, its accuracy and completeness are not entirely guaranteed. The information, data, analysis reports, and opinions provided are the proprietary data of KoSIF and Greenpeace. Any reproduction and distribution is strictly prohibited. The content of this white paper is intended for informational use only and is subject to change without prior notice. Contents PREFACE KIM YOUNG-HO CHAIRMAN OF KOREA SUSTAINABILITY INVESTING FORUM 02 WONYOUNG YANGYI MEMBER, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY REPUBLIC OF KOREA 03 GREENPEACE SEOUL OFFICE FOR EAST ASIA 04 MAIN TEXT SUMMARY 05 CLIMATE FINANCE AND TRENDS OF COAL FINANCE OVERSEAS COAL EXIT POLICY AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF CLIMATE FINANCE 07 COAL EXIT OF OVERSEAS FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 09 DOMESTIC COAL-FIRED POWER GENERATION POLICY AND CLIMATE FINANCE 10 COAL EXIT OF DOMESTIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 11 ANALYSIS OVERVIEW: COAL FINANCE OF KOREAN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 12 COAL FINANCE RANKING PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COAL FINANCE RANKING 16 DOMESTIC AND OVERSEAS COAL FINANCE RANKING 17 RANKING BY GOVERNMENT MINISTRIES(PUBLIC) AND FINANCIAL SECTOR(PRIVATE) 18 RANKING BY PRIVATE FINANCIAL GROUPS 19 DETAILED ANALYSIS OF COAL FINANCE BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTION PUBLIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTION 20 PRIVATE FINANCIAL INSTITUTION 24 PRIVATE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS BY GROUP 36 COAL FINANCE PHASE-OUT PLAN OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 42 CONCLUSION 44 SPECIAL CHAPTER I. ANALYSIS OF COAL ASSET EXPOSURE BY FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 46 II. RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT STATUS AND PLAN OF FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS 47 III. LOCAL GOVERNMENTS' ANTI-COAL FINANCE POLICY IN CUSTODY BANK SELECTION PROCESS 49 Appendix I. Survey and Analytical Methodology 54 II. Coal Finance Status by Financial Institution 55 III. Project Details of Public Financial Institutions 60 IV. Status of Local Governments and Offices of Education Using Coal Phase-out Criteria for Bank Selection Process 62 V. Status of Banks Selected by Local Governments 64 Kim Young-ho Chairman of Korea Sustainability Investing Forum The world faces sustainability challenges. Various crises such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, and polarization are threatening human sustainability, but none of them are as serious as climate change. This is not coming from an ecologist or environmentalist. The term “climate change,” which lacks gravity, However, coal exit finance in Korea has only begun. is suddenly replaced by “climate crisis,” “climate At this point, the Seoul Office of Greenpeace, Office emergency,” and going further, “climate catastrophe.” of National Assemblywoman Wonyoung YangYi, and The world is presently concerned about the Great Korea Sustainability Investing Forum cooperated Depression caused by COVID-19. Yet compared to and published “The 2020 white paper on Korea’s climate catastrophe, COVID-19 is merely a preview, Coal Finance” for the first time in Korea, providing a and climate catastrophe may cause incredible death comprehensive understanding of the scale and status tolls among humankind. The temperature change of of Korea’s coal finance. The scale of coal finance to 1.5℃ is the Maginot Line proposed by IPCC to help this day has been fragmentarily estimated through prevent the extinction of humankind. The prompt the reports targeting only some of the major public overhaul of coal-fired power plants, which are the financial institutions or through press reports on some primary cause of greenhouse gases, is a key measure of the private financial institutions, among others. to this end. According to Climate Analytics, in order to limit the temperature change to below 1.5°C, the This white paper, however, analyzes how and in what OECD countries and 28 EU countries must overhaul manner the public and private financial institutions plans by 2030, and the rest of the countries by 2050. have supported coal finance from 2009 through Coal finance is the Many countries around the globe have either devised the end of June 2020 via a “complete survey.” quintessence of capital “ or are devising roadmaps for their coal-fired power Naturally, this white paper has limitations in that many from which social exit before or after 2030. organizations have refused to submit data and those responsibility has been that did cooperate only submitted inadequate or eliminated. I hope that Korea, however, has gone against this trend and inaccurate data. There is a long way to go. However, this white paper will has also become a target of domestic and foreign this white paper is meaningful in that an approach has serve as an impetus criticism. Recently, it has decided to invest in overseas been made towards the truth, such as by uncovering for accelerating coal coal-fired power generation, including Indonesia’s the fact that Korea’s coal finance amounted to KRW exit discussions and Jawa Units 9 and 10, and Vietnam’s Vung Ang Unit 2. 60 trillion over 12 years and that the scale of private implementation in Korean In Korea, seven units of new coal-fired power plants financial institutions exceeded KRW 37 trillion. society and be actively are undergoing construction. This is inconsistent with used by the government the world’s efforts to fight against the climate crisis Coal finance is an example of capital lacking social to devise coal exit and is also a policy that clearly contradicts the current responsibility. I hope that this white paper will serve policies, by investors to administration’s Green New Deal. as an impetus for accelerating coal exit discussions manage climate risks, and implementation in Korean society and be actively and by civic society A large amount of public finance and private capital used by the government to devise coal exit policies, to engage in coal exit are invested in the construction of coal-fired power by investors to manage climate risks, and by civic financing activities. plants. This capital for this so-called “coal finance” is society to engage in coal exit financing activities. fueling the climate crisis. This coal finance is an anti- environmental and anti-climate investment, and is also a financially risky investment, given the concerns ” about the accumulation of stranded assets. The production cost of new and renewable energies has fallen by 45 to 85% over the past decade, and it is predicted to fall by 50% over the next decade. Hence, using new and renewable energies has become rather more economic and an energy industrial revolution through the combination of AI and bio is anticipated. For this reason, the world’s leading public and private financial institutions are joining together in “coal exit