Petrochemical Industry in the Era of Carbon Barriers: From Regulatory Barriers to Green Competitiveness

​Carbon-related trade measures, including the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the proposed U.S. Clean Competition Act (CCA), are placing greater demands on export-oriented industries to measure and reduce the carbon emissions of their products. As discussions on expanding CBAM to include petrochemical products are actively underway, and petrochemicals are already included in the proposed CCA, the industry needs to prepare for evolving carbon regulations and growing demand for low-carbon products in global markets.

​This session will discuss how carbon-related trade barriers affect South Korea’s petrochemical industry and why reducing product carbon intensity matters for industrial competitiveness. It will also explore what industries can do to reduce emissions and what policy measures are needed to support these efforts. The discussion will consider how South Korean industry can maintain long-term export competitiveness while contributing to climate change mitigation through tangible greenhouse gas emissions reductions.