[Editorial] No sense of crisis about energy

British Petroleum’s yearly global energy report makes us think about our energy consumption. The world consumed 2.7 percent more energy last year than it did in 2004, while Korea consumed 3.7 percent more over the same period. That is too much of an increase for a country that is the ninth largest consumer of energy and where the economy is reaching maturity. The major advanced nations of the world are either maintaining the same level of energy consumption or are consuming less. Looking at the statistics, Korea is a country poor in energy that behaves like one that is rich in natural resources.

Last year, we spent 67.7 billion USD on imported energy. That is more than Korea earned with its top exports, semiconductors (30 billion USD) and automobiles (29.5 billion USD), combined. In 2003, energy accounted for 21.4 percent of all imports, but last year it was up to 25.5 percent. Because of this rising situation, a slowing of exports can lead to an account deficit and pressure on Korea’s foreign currency reserves.

While many of Korea’s major industries are ones that use a lot of energy, such as petrochemicals and steel, we do not have the luxury of using that as an excuse. The government and businesses need to foster the growth of high value-added industries that use lower amounts of energy. This may merely sound like the words of a textbook being read aloud, but more can be achieved if we work harder, and all the while with a sense of urgency about how our economy could suddenly be hit with an energy crisis. The fact that the amount of energy South Korea uses in comparison to its GDP is gradually shrinking because of the growth of the IT industry shows you that there are ways to change the current situation.

We feel we have to blame the government. It has repeatedly issued energy and industry policies that are full of plenty of talk when there is a crisis at hand, and then forgotten when situations improve, without any action taken. While it is true there is nothing that would create an instantaneous positive effect, the problem is that government authorities look like they have no sense of the crisis at hand to begin with.

What is most important is that everyone in the country comes out of insensitivity about the situation. We need to start with small acts of conservation, like turning off one more light in each home and refraining from excessive heat and air conditioning. One cannot deny that compared to other developed countries, in winter we heat rooms and in summer cool rooms to extreme temperatures. Energy consumption in homes and commercial facilities rose 8.4 percent last year. We hope to see the government and the people remind themselves of the fact that we live in times when the price of energy is increasing significantly.