Yoo Yeon-chul, left, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact Network Korea, moderates a panel discussion on strategies for energy transition and energy mix during The Korea Times Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, Wednesday. From left are Yoo; Kim Sung-woo, head of Environment and Energy Research Institute at Kim & Chang; Chung Bum-jin, professor of Department of Nuclear Engineering at Kyung Hee University; and Martin Henkelmann, president and CEO of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Former U.S. President Donald Trump's possible reelection is not expected to change the direction of international efforts for an energy transition, although his skepticism about global warming may temporarily slow down efforts to combat climate change, energy experts said during The Korea Times Forum, Wednesday.

Yoo Yeon-chul, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact Network Korea, noted that U.S. companies have been committed to environmentally friendly production, even after the world's largest economy withdrew from the Paris Agreement in 2017 under the Trump presidency.

"Trump has a distorted view on climate change," he said during a panel discussion on strategies for an energy transition and energy mix.

"The market has been functioning well in the United States to cope with climate change, so the country will continue counteracting climate change, regardless of the possible Trump's presidency over the next four years."

Yoo Yeon-chul, executive director of the United Nations Global Compact Network Korea, speaks during The Korea Times Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Kim Sung-woo, head of the Environment and Energy Research Institute at the law firm Kim & Chang, said that other stakeholders will be able to overcome the U.S. president's power if they work together.

Based on the belief that ineffective global climate agreements have made the U.S. have a more significant impact on international energy policies, he mentioned bipartisan proposals regarding climate-related bills at the U.S. Congress, which are similar to the European Union's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.

"Just like the Inflation Reduction Act, the bills are also intended to curb China's expansion," Kim said.

"The U.S. is highly likely to impose carbon tariffs in the end to reduce national deficits."

Kim Sung-woo, head of the Environment and Energy Research Institute at Kim & Chang, speaks during The Korea Times Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry President and CEO Martin Henkelmann emphasized the importance of legally binding frameworks, sharing Kim's view that the international community has not worked strongly together at the moment.

"We have to see that these frameworks are phrased into legal texts that are binding on the national or on the regional level," he said.

The discussion's participants agreed that it will take some time to completely end the use of fossil fuels, considering the high costs and low efficiencies of renewable energy at this moment.

"Humanity will coexist with fossil energies for a while, and the period can be a half century," said Chung Bum-jin, a professor at the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Kyung Hee University and president of the Korea Nuclear Society.

Chung Bum-jin, a professor at the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Kyung Hee University, speaks during The Korea Times Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

However, they emphasized that consumers must play a major role in the phase-out of fossil fuels, challenging the common belief that the responsibility for an energy transition lies mainly with governments and companies.

"From the perspective of prioritizing effective economic growth, it could be difficult to remove thousands of power plants using fossil fuel and jobs of people working in relevant industries," Kim said.

"If consumers feel the necessity of reducing fossil fuel consumption, they can accelerate the end of the fossil fuel era."

He added that it is time for consumers to accept the costs concerning carbon emissions.

Martin Henkelmann, president and CEO of the Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaks during The Korea Times Forum at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Henkelmann also believes that consumers are key players in the energy transition, along with governments and companies.

"When we look at the question (of) how fast we would come to an end, we have to look on how decisive our actions are and actions of the government and companies, as well as consumers and all the other stakeholders," he said.

Chung stated that consumers should be more discerning when purchasing so-called eco-friendly products at higher prices.

He pointed out that higher prices mean a larger input of resources, although he admitted that environmental factors should also be considered when assessing a product's price.

"The purchase of high-priced eco-friendly products could be unreasonable and unsustainable," he said.

"Nuclear energy can be a good option to curb the price hikes in eco-friendly products while reducing carbon emissions."

Citing Chinese solar panels as an example, he added that consumers should be aware that coal has been used to generate electricity for the production of the panels.

Additionally, Chung criticized the previous Moon Jae-in administration's anti-nuclear policies.

"When the previous government tried to reduce carbon emissions without nuclear power generation, climate change did not seem to be an urgent matter for them," he said.

"We need to mobilize all available resources to push ahead with energy transition."