Gov’t to offer more support for zero-emission vehicles

The government is seeking to encourage people to use electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs), with the goal of more than 300,000 such cars being sold this year, through more supports, such as subsidies and tax deductions, Environment Minister Han Jeoung-ae said, Tuesday.

Minister Han said during a media conference that the expansion of the use of EVs and FCEVs is aimed at cutting emissions of greenhouse gases to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

“Accelerating the supply of zero-emission vehicles is one of our most important tasks for reaching carbon neutrality,” Han said.

She said that Korea was ranked first in the world with regard to the number of FCEVs, and eighth for EVs as of the end of 2020, but there are still several issues to be resolved to further accelerate the use, such as the lack of hydrogen charging stations.

“The government will set up more hydrogen charging stations in accordance with a rapid increase in the number of FCEVs, as well as carry out more effective subsidy policies, so that more people can use zero-emission cars,” Han said.

She noted that the government is planning to build more than 180 hydrogen charging stations across the country, including 50 in the Seoul metropolitan area, by the end of this year.

The government will also support the localization of various components necessary to build the hydrogen charging stations, in order to reduce dependence on imported ones, amid the intense race among different countries to construct the infrastructure for hydrogen cars.

The minister also said the P4G Seoul Summit, scheduled for May 30 and 31, will promote international participation in achieving carbon neutrality.

The P4G stands for “Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030,” which is a public-private initiative to tackle climate change and other sustainable development challenges.

In 2019, Korea was selected as the host for the biennial climate summit, initially slated for 2020, but the event was postponed to this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.