[The Hwankyung Ilbo] The Green Korea held a press conference and insisted that "the most effective measures to reduce fine dust are to stop coal-fired generation." They also argued that it is not necessary to produce more power than necessary in the situation where the reserve ratio exceeds 30%, and especially the old power plant should be shut down.

According to a study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Research in collaboration with NASA from May to June, 2016, it was found that 48% of fine dust in Korea came from abroad. The results are different according to the time and criteria of the survey, but both domestic factors and external influences exist.

Power plants account for 15% of South Korea's fine dust generation. This surpasses the amount of fine dust emitted from 9 million diesel-powered vehicles, which accounts for 11%.

However, coal-fired power generation, which accounts for a large portion of Korea's fine dust emissions, is expected to increase. Ten old coal-fired power plants will be shut down, but with seven additional coal-fired power plants under construction, Korea's coal-fired power plants will continue to increase by 2030.

“Cooperation with China is also important to reduce fine dust, but the reduction of fine dust emissions in Korea should come first," The Green Korea said. “The solution is to halt operation of coal-fired thermal power plants.”

조수빈 리포터  press@hkbs.co.kr

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