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| World Energy Council (WEC) Chairman Younghoon David Kim speaks during an interview with The Korea Times ahead of its Sept. 9-12 congress in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Oh Young-jin
World Energy Council (WEC) Chairman Younghoon David Kim does not say anything Darwinian out loud, but as the Harvard-educated theologian prepares for its 24th congress, he makes it clear that it is a matter of survival of the fittest ― that the industry needs to adapt urgently or its fate will be the same as that of the dinosaurs.
"The fossil fuels-based energy system is no longer viable," Kim told The Korea Times ahead of the plenary gathering in Abu Dhabi, Sept. 9-12. "We need to bring innovative disruptions to our business-as-usual and embrace an out-of-box thinking approach to adapt, adopt and evolve."
For the past six years, Kim has served as co-chairman and chairman of the organization whose 3,000 members from 90 countries include a who's who of the global oil industry as well as NGOs, governments, state corporations and other stakeholders.
Technology disruptors, selected through the Start-Up Energy Initiative or SET-100, are expected to attend the congress. They cover five key areas ― low carbon, intelligent grid, energy efficiency, smart device and storage, mobility and sustainable development ― that are needed for the energy industry's transition.
More than 450 energy-related venture firms participated in a contest the WEC organized with the German government. Over 80 firms from the selected 100 will be in Abu Dhabi to open their booths at the congress exhibition. Two Korean ventures applied but did not make the cut.
One finalist is a venture firm that has the technology to make lithium-ion batteries 100 percent recyclable. At the congress, those venture firms will get a chance to meet the "deepest pockets" from the energy industry and get their technology commercialized.
"We try to offer solutions in a departure from our usual practice of identifying and presenting the problems," Kim said.
Regarding the ongoing transition to sustainable energy, Kim applies the Schumpeterian concept of appropriate technology, saying that opposition by any stakeholder carries a risk of failure whether it is about energy mix, production, distribution and use.
In France, the Gilet Jaunes, or yellow vest, protests erupted against President Emmanuel Macron's imposition of higher fossil-fuel taxes. The protests are often attributed to rural residents who were to be hit by fuel price hikes, of more concern to these people than Macron's drive to turn away from fossil fuels. Macron was nearly toppled.
In the German case, it would be strong labor unions in automotive and coal-mining industries whose consent is pivotal to shift further to renewables.
"How to make the change acceptable to the stakeholders and create a consensus is the key to our journey to the sustainable sources," Kim said.
Kim leads one of Korea's oldest and leading energy solutions providers that started with gas and has broadened its portfolio to solar and microbial. In June, Kim hosted an international seminar in Seoul regarding microorganisms as a clean and renewable source of energy. During a roundtable with the world's renowned experts in the area, he also took note of the importance of building consensus.
The WEC chairman believes in what he campaigned for during his election, recalling: "First, I said then that the world is transitioning from being resources-based to knowledge-based, from capital-intensive to technology-intensive and so is our industry."
He gave the example of Tesla, a U.S. electric carmaker, and its leader Elon Musk.
"Elon Musk was a software expert and now Tesla is transforming the car industry as we know it," Kim said. Musk and Tesla are triggering an industrial stampede among carmakers to ditch their fossil-fuel combustion engines and embrace battery-powered cars. Big-name European and American ― as well as Korean and Japanese ― marques are setting their goals for decarbonization.
Then, another question is whether Saudi Arabia can continue to bask in its unlimited "oil dollars." The kingdom itself does not believe so ― it has set up the 2030 project to wean itself from oil revenue, following the UAE's precedent.
"I feel no less urgent about the transition than when I took office," Kim said.
However, the energy expert by training does not miss the gap between reality and goal. One example is the lithium-ion battery used as auxiliary power storage to complement intermittent solar and wind power. If the transition is pushed ahead without making those storage systems recyclable on a massive scale, mountains of used ones will appear.
They would not just be an eyesore but pose a severe threat to health and the environment. What about cobalt, another ingredient in the high-energy density battery? Then there is the problem with the concentration of those rare minerals in a few countries, which could jeopardize constant and reliable supply.
"We need a comprehensive, balanced and long-term approach," he said. "If we have come this far at a gallop, we should take a measured approach."
He applies this measured approach to climate change.
He observed that there was climate change and that man-made carbon dioxide from fossil fuels trapped the air, blocked currents and raised surface temperatures.
There also are so-called climate change deniers, U.S. President Donald Trump being best known if not for his admission but for his action of withdrawing his country from the Paris Agreement and subsidizing the pollution-causing, unviable coal industry.
When looked at from a long-term perspective, there can be questions about the limits of current knowledge about climate change. For instance, it was first called "global warming," which is said to be inappropriate. As weather patterns go unexpectedly from cold to warm or vice versa, it is referred to as "erratic climate change."
What usually emerged as a climate threat in the earth's history was about extreme cold ― an ice age. Scientists said there would be no more ice ages because the increasing generation of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases that keep the air warm would prevent another deep freeze. They are the same gases they blame for climate change.
Then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher politicized the energy issue when she brought down the coalminers' strike, turning the U.K.'s energy mix heavily to nuclear power.
"Some politicians, scientists and media say climate change is taking place in a matter of days and years, but previously it took place in a cycle that spans hundreds of millions of years," Kim said. "We are acting as if in a feeding frenzy. We need to calm down and get the facts right."
"Everybody uses energy and it involves big money from its generation, distribution and use," he said. "If we change directions too fast or without enough consideration, it would entail an enormous twist in resources allocation ― a waste of money, time, opportunity and the whole nine yards."
Who is Younghoon David Kim?
Younghoon David Kim is serving a three-year term as chairman of the World Energy Council (WEC) after his election at its 2016 Congress. He is also chairman and CEO of Daesung Group, one of South Korea's oldest energy conglomerates.
Before that, he served as the council's co-chairman and vice chairman for the Asia-Pacific and South Asia. He led the Organizing Committee for the 2013 World Energy Congress in Daegu. In recognition of the congress' success, Kim was awarded the Seo Sang-don Award in 2014.
He led the Organizing Committee for the 2015 World Water Forum, which was held in Korea. The Mongolian government awarded Kim the Order of the Polestar in 2008, its highest honor for a foreign national, in recognition of his contributions to the fight against desertification in the Gobi Desert with Daesung's SolaWin project. This project has been successfully replicated in South Asia, Central Asia and Africa as a model private-public partnership (PPP) that alleviates food, energy and water ("FEW") poverty.
Kim joined Daesung Group in 1988 and has been chairman and CEO since 2000. He is the group's main shareholder and has focused on diversifying its activities. Daesung is responsible for supplying 20 percent of the residential natural gas market in Korea. In addition, Daesung has developed electric power and renewable energy sources, including landfill gas-to-energy, a combined-cycle gas power station and Korea's first solar power tower system.
Kim was born in Daegu. He received a Bachelor of Law degree from Seoul National University, a Master of Comparative Law degree and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Theology degree from the Harvard Divinity School.
