Reasons for Proposal
The world is recently facing a crisis including factors that pose an increasing threat to the lives of people such as environmental pollution, depletion of resources, or climate change as well as low economic growth.
Advanced countries are seeking to transition to a green economy as a means to overcome the climate and environmental crisis and restore industrial competitiveness, and Korea is actively pursuing promotion of the green industry with the Green New Deal, a new national development strategy after COVID-19.
While the Framework Act on Low Carbon, Green Growth was legislated in 2010 to prepare the legal basis to promote the green industry, some have raised concerns that it lacks specific enforcement instruments. Although policies to promote individual industries including the environment have been sought, they are considered insufficient.
Furthermore, with the advent of the 4th Industrial Revolution, which highlights convergence and connection between industries, it is becoming increasingly necessary to create breakthrough technologies by combining the green industry, a key industry in the future, with other related industries to develop the national and local economy.
In this regard, this Act aims to establish areas that can be specialized in the green industry and its related industries as Green Convergence Clusters, provide systematic and effective support including demonstration experiments and commercialization to the companies that move into Green Convergence Clusters.
Details
A. Require the central and local governments to prepare and implement policies required to establish and promote Green Convergence Clusters (Article 3).
B. Require the Minister of Environment to establish a Green Convergence Cluster Master Plan every 5 years to systematically develop Green Convergence Clusters (Article 6).
C. Require the Minister of Environment to prepare the Green Convergence Cluster Establishment Plan if the establishment of a Green Convergence Cluster is deemed necessary and designate the applicable area as a Green Convergence Cluster after gathering feedback from the Mayor/Do Governor and consulting with the heads of the relevant central government agencies, and allow the Mayor/Do Governor to request the Minister of Environment to designate the area as a Green Convergence Cluster (Article 9).
D. Define consistency with the Green Convergence Cluster Master Plan, the integration/convergence effect for the green industry, and contributions to the local economy as requirements to designate Green Convergence Clusters (Article 10).
E. Define support required to systematically and continuously develop Green Convergence Clusters such as installation support for Green Convergence Cluster infrastructure, designation and support for the Green Innovation Industry, designation and support for Green Innovation Companies, tax breaks, special cases to use national/public properties, and special cases to provide raw materials for experiments (Articles 15 through 22).
