Korea Electric Power Corporation

KEPCO has set a target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018. KEPCO also aims to reduce its own and its group-level scope 1 and 2 emissions by 100% by 2050 and its group-level scope 1 and 2 emissions by 39.3% by 2030, compared to 2018. However, these targets could not be assessed in the benchmark as it is unclear whether KEPCO will use offsets to achieve them. KEPCO should set intermediate targets at gaps of no more than five years to incentivise near-term actions on its longer-term goals. It should also clearly report any offsetting it intends to use to allow for a complete analysis of its targets and progress against them.

KEPCO’s emissions intensity decreased between 2017 and 2022 as its share of coal generation reduced and nuclear increased. To align with its 1.5°C pathway in 2027, KEPCO must reduce its emissions intensity by about 11% per year. KEPCO is projected to significantly exceed its total 1.5°C carbon budget for the period 2022-2037 due to its continued high reliance on fossil fuels. Between 2022 and 2027, the company’s proportion of coal-fired energy generation is projected to marginally decrease, while its gas-fired generation is projected to increase.

Between 2019 and 2022, KEPCO invested USD 2.86 billion in research and development (R&D). KEPCO conducts R&D in low-carbon technologies related to energy efficiency improvement, expansion of its renewable energy capacity, application of carbon capture, use and storage (CCUS), establishment of an smart grid and water electrolysis. The company also conducts R&D on non-mature technologies related to ammonia co-firing. KEPCO should disclose its climate-related R&D spending in both mature and non-mature low-carbon technologies. Moreover, it should allocate the majority of its R&D investments to low-carbon technologies and energies.

KEPCO’s emissions intensity trend for its purchased power for resale decreased between 2017 and 2022 at a rate greater than that required by its 1.5°C pathway for 2022-2027. Although KEPCO purchases about 26% of its power for resale, it does not report future projections for its purchased power. KEPCO should disclose its purchased power for resale disaggregated by generation source and type and indicate the use of any market-based measures. Although KEPCO reports providing energy efficiency services, the company does not disclose its current revenue from energy efficiency services or its expected revenues for the next five years.

KEPCO has set a target to reduce its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 2018. This target applies to KEPCO alone. Further, KEPCO aims to reduce its own and the KEPCO group’s (KEPCO and its six power generation subsidiaries’) scope 1 and 2 emissions by 100% by 2050 and their scope 1 and 2 emissions by 39.3% by 2030, compared to 2018.

KEPCO’s transition plan aims to achieve 49 GW of renewable energy capacity (from solar, wind, hydro and other undefined power sources) by 2035 and 132,300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of renewable energy generation by 2030, from about 6 GW and 8 TWh respectively in 2022. Furthermore, KEPCO aims to develop hydrogen and ammonia power generation capacity. KEPCO supports the expansion of its nuclear and renewable energy capacity with a planned capital expenditure (CapEx) of USD 11.14 billion between 2023 and 2025.

In 2022, KEPCO generated about 55% of its electricity from fossil fuels, with around three-quarters of this from thermal coal-fired generation. About 96% of KEPCO’s low-carbon electricity was generated using nuclear power, with the remaining 4% from solar, wind, hydro and other sources. KEPCO has a low-carbon business model to expand its solar power capacity by 2.1 GW and offshore wind capacity by 2.9 GW, which feed into the company’s objective to expand its renewable energy capacity to 49 GW by 2030.

KEPCO’s emissions intensity for its own energy generation decreased between 2017 and 2022. Over this period, the proportion of low-carbon sources in KEPCO’s energy generation mix increased from 36% to 45%. KEPCO’s emissions intensity between 2017 and 2022 associated with its purchased power for resale decreased at a rate greater than that required by its 1.5°C pathway for 2022-2027.

KEPCO aims to reduce its group-level scope 1 and 2 emissions by 100% by 2050, but it is unclear whether it relies on offsets. KEPCO’s objective to expand its renewable and nuclear energy capacity is supported by a projected CapEx of USD 11.14 billion between 2023 and 2025, but the company has not committed to phasing out fossil fuels. Though KEPCO conducts R&D in CCUS, it does not disclose its associated R&D spending.

No evidence was found of the company’s commitment to social dialogue or of the categories of stakeholders the company engages with on a just transition. Furthermore, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s ongoing social dialogue and meaningful engagement with affected stakeholders. No evidence was found of the company undertaking just transition planning to mitigate the social impacts of the low-carbon transition on workers, affected stakeholders and its business relationships. Additionally, no evidence was found to demonstrate the company’s engagement in social dialogue and with stakeholders in just transition planning.

The company discloses the actions it takes to build a future growth ecosystem centred on new energy businesses which will create 12,000 jobs. However, no public commitment by the company was found stating its intention to create and support access to green and decent jobs as part of the low-carbon transition. Moreover, no evidence was found of the company’s action to promote these jobs in a way that ensures gender balance and inclusion of vulnerable groups. No relevant disclosure was found of the company’s assessment of employment dislocation risks. The company discloses the actions it takes to provide training and education opportunities for workers and affected stakeholders. For instance, it offers internal and external professional development programmes and nurtures over 100 energy policy experts. However, no relevant disclosure was found of the company embedding equality of opportunity for women and vulnerable groups in these actions. Furthermore, no evidence was found of the company having a process for identifying skills gaps for workers and affected stakeholders or a public commitment to help workers displaced by the transition to reskill or upskill.

No relevant disclosure was found to show if the company identifies impacts of the low-carbon transition on social protection for workers and affected stakeholders, nor how it contributes to social protection. Additionally, no evidence was found that the company expects its business relationships to contribute to the social protection of their workers and affected stakeholders. No relevant disclosure was found to show how the company identifies any misalignment of its lobbying activities with policies and regulations that support the just transition, nor of the measures it takes to address misalignment. Furthermore, no evidence was found that the company lobbies for policies and regulations for green and decent job creation; retention, education and reskilling; and social protection for workers.

While the company commits to respecting human rights and the ILO fundamental rights at work, there was no evidence that it expects its business relationships to respect the ILO fundamental rights at work. The company does not outline their process to identify, assess and mitigate salient human rights risks in its own operations and in its supply chain. The company discloses the stakeholders whose human rights have been affected by its activities. Moreover, the company has a grievance mechanism available to workers and external stakeholders.

While the company expects its business relationships to commit to respecting the health and safety of their workers, there was no evidence to indicate it has the same commitment for itself. Further, no evidence was found of the company having a time-bound target for paying all workers a living wage. There was also no evidence that the company discloses the proportion of its direct workforce covered by collective bargaining agreements or its required working hours. The company discloses the gender of its workforce by employee category. However, no relevant disclosure was found of additional indicators of workforce diversity. No evidence was found that the company commits to gender equality and women’s empowerment.

No evidence was found that the company commits to protecting personal data and that it has a privacy statement regarding the collection, sharing and access to personal data. No relevant disclosure was found of the company’s global tax strategy and the corporate income tax it pays in each relevant jurisdiction. The company does have a policy prohibiting bribery and corruption, and it includes corresponding clauses in its business relationship contracts. However, no evidence was found that the company has a lobbying and political engagement policy or that it discloses that it does not make political contributions. No relevant disclosure was found of the company’s expenditure on lobbying activities.