South Korean leader says invest in climate

Yahoo News 22 Nov 08;

LIMA (AFP) – South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak on Saturday appealed for investment in green energy, saying it would not only help the environment but also boost the ailing world economy.

South Korea is one of the rare countries that is setting national goals to cut emissions that cause global warming despite not having obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, which only covered leading economies.

Lee, attending a summit of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Peru, called for greater investment in clean energies such as wind power.

"Although we are now going through an economic crisis, for sustainable future growth we must not neglect common issues of humankind such as climate change and our resources crisis," Lee said.

"We urgently need a new energy paradigm that can get us through the current energy and climate change crisis," he said.

"This is not a path that we can either take or not. It is one we must take for future generations," he said.

However, a survey of Asia-Pacific opinion leaders released at the APEC summit earlier showed that concern about global warming has diminished sharply, with far more people putting priority on addressing the financial crisis.

Lee, who was elected president in December last year, won wide praise as mayor of Seoul for tearing down a highway in the middle of the crowded metropolis and replacing it with a restored river.