South Korea releases new green credit cards

South Korea announces a new government program offering credit card owners green points to embrace a lower-carbon lifestyle.

Credit cards in South Korea that already offer discounts on food and the cinema, are now starting an energy consumption incentive programme.

The new 2011 policy, announced by the Ministry of Environment, will encourage consumers to buy eco-friendly products, take public transport and generally create a greener, cheaper lifestyle for themselves.

The green credits can be used to lower utility bills and to redeem for cash.

The combination of credit and green consumption, the ministry said, is part of a drive to reduce the country's greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020.

South Korea's most ambitious plan to tackle climate change so far, was to introduce emission trading laws in December 2010, to start in 2013 running through to 2015. The exchange based trading scheme will be the second biggest outside of Europe.

The Korean government plans to launch a three-phase scheme that would cover about 470 firms or operations across all sectors emitting more than 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The South Korean government have made green credit cards easy to obtain, "You can earn bonus points in daily life when you buy a carbon-less labelling detergent or collect used batteries," said Hwang Suk-tae, a senior official at the Climate Change Cooperation division at the ministry.

Hong Sung-pyo, head of Korean Green Purchasing Network said: "We have a chance to change the current mantra that living green is tough to achieve."

He continued by saying that the government Ministry campaign had a higher chance of succeeding than private companies did.

The capital of South Korea, Seoul, is also jumping on the green bandwagon, and has this month launched an eco-mileage credit card.

The Eco-mileage cards allow customers who buy hybrid cars and eco-friendly appliances discounts coupons in return for their commitment to reducing electricity and water levels. Both Samsung and Hyundai are taking part in the scheme.

Author: Charity Knight | Climate Action

Image: zukunftsalick | flickr