EAI Commentary: The First Step in China-Korea Cooperation on Fine Dust Reduction: Shared Understanding and Research

[Editor's Note]

Fine dust has deeply permeated our lives, to the extent that checking fine dust concentrations has become a daily routine. Moreover, air pollutants like fine dust transcend national borders and travel according to the laws of nature, limiting the effectiveness of individual nations' efforts to resolve the issue. This is precisely why international cooperation is necessary. According to Professor Lee Tae-dong of Yonsei University, while South Korea and China have made various efforts to jointly address environmental pollution since the 1990s, practical joint research or publications have not materialized since fine dust was included as a research subject. The author emphasizes that for effective joint responses between nations, there must first be a shared recognition of air pollution as a transnational issue, supported by joint research, and the outcomes of such research must be reflected in actual policy-making processes.

"I am not sure if there is sufficient evidence that Korea's fine dust originates from China... This issue must be approached with a scientific attitude." (Lu Kang, Spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 6, 2019)

"It is true that fine dust has origins from China." (Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Foreign Affairs, March 7, 2019)

"The Chinese Minister of Ecology and Environment clearly acknowledged the impact of fine dust originating from China on Korea." (Cho Myung-rae, Minister of Environment, March 7, 2019)

One of the characteristics of air quality issues is that air pollutants travel according to the laws of nature, without regard for national borders. This implies difficulties in establishing and enforcing jurisdiction for managing air pollutants between nations. It also signifies that international cooperation is essential to address transboundary air pollution. So, where should international cooperation begin?

There are prerequisites for resolving issues such as fine dust and yellow dust. First, a shared understanding of the scientific facts—where air pollutants originate, how they travel, and what consequences they cause in specific locations—is necessary. Peter Haas, an environmental political scientist, argues that epistemic communities, networks of scientists who share beliefs about causal processes based on expert knowledge, significantly influence the policies that international organizations and nations develop to address pressing environmental issues. However, disagreements among scientists regarding research methods, results, and theories persist, necessitating continuous and diverse joint research in both natural and social sciences to mitigate these differences.

The diplomatic exchanges between South Korea and China mentioned earlier demonstrate that, despite a long history of cooperation, an agreement has yet to be reached on the causes, pathways, and consequences of transboundary air pollutants, including fine dust. Since the mid-1990s, South Korea and China have initiated efforts to jointly address environmental pollution issues. In 2000, the "Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LTP)" project was launched among South Korea, China, and Japan, leading to the establishment of an air modeling system, analysis of source-receptor relationships for sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, and assessment of the transboundary impact of fine dust. Notably, the results of a 2013 modeling study on the source-receptor impact of fine dust, conducted as part of the LTP, revealed that approximately 47% of fine dust in South Korea originates from domestic sources, with the remainder influenced by China and North Korea, although this varies with seasonal changes. According to recent research by the Ministry of Environment, the contribution of external sources to fine dust is typically 30-50%, but it increases to 60-80% during periods of high concentration. However, after fine dust was included as a subject for joint research, China has not released detailed research findings. The scientific uncertainty arising from the lack of substantial joint research and the absence of joint research publications hinders environmental cooperation on transboundary pollutants in Northeast Asia.

Another factor hindering Northeast Asian cooperation to reduce transboundary air pollutants like fine dust is the difference in perception. This disparity is significant not only among policymakers but also among scholars and the general public in South Korea and China regarding transboundary pollutants. According to research by Kim Sang-gyu and Kim Dong-yeon (2018), an analysis of domestic theses and journal articles in South Korea from 1990 to 2017 revealed that papers using keywords such as acid rain, yellow dust, fine dust, environmental pollution, and air pollution in conjunction with China ranged from a low of 0.75% (5 out of 695 papers on marine pollution mentioning marine pollution + China) to 3.44% (9 out of 261 papers on acid rain mentioning acid rain + China). In contrast, during the same period, only one paper in China's theses and domestic academic journals linked yellow dust to South Korea (out of 1,966 papers on yellow dust), and only one paper among those studying fine dust mentioned and linked it to South Korea (out of 4,328 papers on fine dust). This indicates that as China's environmental pollution worsens, research related to China's environment and air pollution increases, but it is not studied in connection with South Korea. For the general public, while a petition on the Blue House National Petition website demanding China's accountability for fine dust influx garnered over 200,000 signatures in South Korea, it is rare to hear voices in China expressing concern about the impact of fine dust from South Korea and other Asian regions.

Quantified scientific analysis of the causes, pathways, and consequences of transboundary pollution can serve as a mechanism to clarify responsibility under the Polluter Pay Principle (PPP) in international agreements, potentially burdening the polluting country. However, in transboundary air pollution, there are no purely polluters or victims. For instance, China may be affected by transboundary pollutants from Mongolia, and Japan may be influenced by transboundary pollutants from China and South Korea. Joint research and analysis by East Asian countries on transboundary air pollutants should be recognized not as grounds for blame or evasion of responsibility, but as foundational data for improving air quality in the East Asian region. Furthermore, an epistemic community on East Asian air pollution must be able to conduct joint research and publish findings together. Based on these published results, policymakers and the general public in East Asia need to collectively recognize the problem and seek solutions together. Even if East Asian researchers produce and share results from joint research using scientific methodologies, if policymakers overlook them, achieving a "shared understanding" of the issue—the crucial first step—becomes difficult. Consequently, the effectiveness of cooperation in reducing transboundary pollutants, including fine dust, is unlikely to be realized. Therefore, a link between scientists and policymakers is necessary to ensure that transnational research results, providing reliable information and data analysis, positively influence policy decisions and cooperation.

Fortunately, platforms for bilateral cooperation between South Korea and China and for multilateral cooperation to reduce transboundary air pollution in Northeast Asia are emerging. The two governments have agreed to jointly establish and operate a "Korea-China Environmental Cooperation Center" through the "Korea-China Environmental Cooperation Plan (2018-2022)". One of the center's main tasks is to comprehensively manage the "Joint Research Group on Air Quality" and the "Environmental Technology Demonstration Support Center," serving as a control tower for environmental cooperation (Ministry of Environment, 2017). Additionally, in October 2018, the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP), a multilateral cooperation framework involving six Northeast Asian countries (South Korea, China, Japan, Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea), was launched, aiming to foster a network between policymakers and scientific experts for reducing regional air pollution, including fine dust.

The first step in fine dust cooperation between South Korea and China is a shared understanding and research on the issue. Specifically, beyond recognizing domestic air pollution problems, it is essential to acknowledge that air pollution can transcend national borders and affect other regions, and to support this understanding with research. When joint research is reflected in public awareness and policy-making processes, it will serve as the starting point for strengthening international environmental cooperation. To address the suffocating problem of fine dust, voluntarily and strongly pursuing domestic reduction measures must be prioritized. Simultaneously, it is time to utilize bilateral and multilateral cooperation channels to ensure that domestic efforts lead to international environmental cooperation. Through these endeavors, the right to breathe clean air freely must be guaranteed for all citizens. ■

■ References

Kim, Sang-gyu, and Kim, Dong-yeon. 2018. “A Study on the Perception Gap and Cooperation between South Korea and China on Transboundary Environmental Pollution Issues: Focusing on Peaceful Conflict Resolution.” *Journal of Peace Studies* 19, no. 1: 253-277.

Nam, Sang-min. 2019. "Is Northeast Asia Cooperation on Fine Dust Possible?" *Participation Society*, April issue, no. 264.

Shin, Beom-sik, et al. 2018. *Understanding Environmental Politics of the Globe*. Seoul: Sahoe Pyongron Academy.

Won, Dong-wook. 2008. "Scientific Uncertainty and the Dilemma of Northeast Asian Environmental Cooperation." *Korean Political Science Review* 42, no. 4: 367-385.

Lee, Tae-dong. 2017. *Environmental-Energy Politics Learned Through Debate*. Seoul: Cheongsong Media.

Lee, Tae-dong, and Jeong, Hye-yoon. 2019. "Politics of Korea-China Air Environmental Cooperation: A Comparative Study of Fine Dust and Climate Change." Paper presented at the meeting of the Climate Change Society.

Lee, Hye-kyung. 2017. *Joint Research on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollutants in Northeast Asia (LTP)*. Seoul: National Assembly Research Service.

Ministry of Environment. 2017. "Signing of the 'Korea-China Environmental Cooperation Plan' on the Occasion of the Summit." Ministry of Environment.

■ Author: Lee, Tae-dong_ Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Yonsei University. Director of the Institute for Environmental, Energy, and Resource Studies at Yonsei University. After majoring in Political Science and International Relations at Yonsei University, he obtained a Master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Seoul National University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Washington on the topic of Global Cities and Climate Change: the Translocal Relation of Environmental Governance (Routledge). His primary research interests include analyzing urban climate change and energy policies from the perspectives of international relations and comparative policy. He teaches courses such as Environmental-Energy Politics, Introduction to Village Studies, and Civil Society and NGO Politics. He has co-authored books including *Introduction to Village Studies* (2017) and *Politics We Create* (2018) with his students.

■ Managed and Edited by: Choi Soo-yi, Senior Researcher at EAI

Inquiries: 02 2277 1683 (ext. 206) I schoi@eai.or.kr

[EAI Commentary] is a commentary series designed to provide a platform for experts from various fields to offer in-depth analyses and policy recommendations on major domestic and international issues. Please cite the source when quoting. EAI is an independent research institution unaffiliated with any political faction. The claims and opinions expressed in reports, journals, and books published by EAI are not attributable to EAI and solely represent the views of the individual author.