ABSTRACT
Climate change is a domestic problem as well as a global one and impacts on the life of everyone, consequently it requires the participation of all the relevant stakeholders in the decision-making process. Establishment of the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) in each country also requires a proper process to reflect the concerns of all the stakeholders in that society. South Korea cannot be an exceptional case. Even though the industrial sector, the biggest energy and electricity consumer, is the major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in South Korea and has the most critical interest in the establishment of the INDC, representative members of all the other sectors have to participate in the process because they are also sources of GHG emissions and climate policies, in addition to climate change itself, influence their lives. This aspect clearly shows governance approach is required to respond to climate change, including INDC establishment. This chapter explores how appropriate the process of establishing INDC was in South Korea, what the criteria were for determining the GHG reduction target, and who was allowed to participate in the process. Other than a literature review, this chapter has taken participatory observation and in-depth interviews as its main methodologies. As a result, this chapter figured out there were several problems in the climate governance in establishing the INDC in South Korea, in terms of appropriate process, participants, and principles for decision-making.
