The South Korean government and businesses aim to bolster their share in the world's renewable energy market to 18 percent by 2030, and create 1.5 million jobs to cut reliance on fossil fuels.
The government selected solar and wind power, fuel cells, biogas, energy storage and nuclear energy as 15 key "green energy" industries to provide technology research support to companies, the Knowledge Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement that carried details of a 20-year roadmap.
The plan would create 1.5 million jobs and 328 trillion won ($304 billion) in exports and 94 trillion won in domestic sales, the ministry said. South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, forecast the commitment would help reduce 210 million metric tons of CO2 by 2030.
An estimate of investments wasn't provided after a 40 trillion won investment plan by 2015 was announced in 2010. Korean companies have a 1.2 percent share of the world's renewable market, according to the statement.
The government's drive to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels is spurring companies to boost their investments in renewable energy. They invested 3.56 trillion won in 2010, compared with 719 billion won in 2007, according to the statement. Their sales from clean energy rose to 8.1 trillion won in 2010 from 1.25 trillion won in 2007.
