韓 탄소중립 선언 후 열린 제 7회 국제전기자동차엑스포...전기차의 환경 효율성과 미래는?
South Korea is garnering a lot of international attention for its recent announcement that it would work to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
Figuring into that goal, it has opened its annual International Electric Vehicle Expo on the southern island of Jeju.
Our Choi Jeong-yoon went to check it out and files this report.
The 7th International Electric Vehicle Expo has officially kicked off on Jeju, an island leading the charge for electric vehicles... aiming to be carbon-free by 2030.
With the expo being held amid the COVID-19, the focus was on turning the crisis into an opportunity for a green transition.
The transport sector accounts for a quarter of all the energy consumed worldwide and experts say mobility is key to bringing a carbon-neutral future.
"Only making electric vehicles is not the solution. There must be sufficient infrastructure for charging and the cost of the cars must be reduced with government support."
The international community called on South Korea to draw up realistic measures for the net-zero target to be achieved.
"The announcement now to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 needs to be broken down and it needs to be seen where emissions can be reduced and can be cut in what sectors."
The current trend in the e-mobility industry is for companies to divide up the process of making electric vehicles... each of them handling different aspects of the product.
For instance this German electric car runs on batteries produced by South Korea's Samsung SDI.
"For this production, heavy battery doesn’t need to be brought inside to charge it…instead there will be around a hundred charging stations in Seoul and even more nationwide.
Batteries can also be exchanged for a new, fully charged one with a range of up to 60 kilometers. 'Non-contact' was also a key element of this year's expo.
"Hundreds of people from fifty countries are joining the expo virtually. After several delays, we carefully held this expo with strict quarantine measures."
Twenty booths for drive-thru exhibitions were installed outside the convention center...where people could see the different electric models.
The three-day expo runs until this Friday and there will be around fifteen workshops and sessions to discuss e-mobility and green energy, all of which will be streamed live on YouTube.
Choi Jeong-yoon, Arirang News, Jeju.