S. Korea, US to launch minister-level talks on clean energy goals

South Korea and the United States have agreed to launch a ministerial-level dialogue on energy policy to strengthen cooperation on clean energy and climate challenges, Seoul's industry ministry said Thursday.

The agreement for the launch of the Energy Policy Dialogue (EPD) was made during the meeting between South Korea's Industry Minister Moon Sung-wook and US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm in Washington on Wednesday (Washington time).

The new platform aims to promote collaboration across their policy, technology, and commercialization, and support decarbonization efforts in a wide range of their economies, by sharing experiences and strategies and conducting joint research in such fields as hydrogen storage, next generation batteries and lithium-ion battery recycling, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The US and South Korea set a target of going carbon neutral by 2050.

"Minister Moon proposed an inaugural EPD meeting in South Korea early next year. He also suggested the establishment of a Korea-US net-zero cooperation center within a US state research institute to promote personnel and technology exchanges," the ministry said in a release.

"Working together, we will deploy key technical solutions to enable sustainable clean energy growth while mitigating climate change impacts, realizing the commitments laid out by President Joe Biden and President Moon Jae-in," Granholm was quoted as saying by the ministry.

The South Korean minister was to return home Thursday after wrapping up his three-day trip to the US for talks on chips, steel tariffs, energy and other pending bilateral issues. (Yonhap)