Korea's Environmental Sustainability Leadership in East Asia and Beyond

Environmental problems but especially those related to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions present huge collective action difficulties, as the sources of the problems are local while the effects are trans-national. Efforts to control pollution can also limit rapid growth, but it is claimed here that application of the newest advancements in GHG-related technology can mitigate some of these costs. This paper examines the potential for the combined mobilization of science and technology (S&T) oil the one hand, and global and regional coordination on the other with particular attention to Korea's prospective role in Northeast Asia. With its robust "green growth" strategy, streamlined bureaucracy, and firm-led GHG-related S&T output, Korea is poised to facilitate regional research projects and technology transfer. Without a more concerted emphasis on basic R&D in this area, though, its breakthrough technologies will lead only to marginal, short-lived increases in productivity.