The new government of South Korea, among the world's largest emitters of greenhouse gases, plans to cap emissions at 2005 levels for the next five years in spite of Seoul's exemption from cuts under the Kyoto protocol. The environment ministry presented the proposal to freeze emissions until 2012 in a report to Lee Myung-bak, the president, in a bid to join international efforts to fight global warming. Although South Korea is the world's 12th largest economy, it is classified as a developing country under Kyoto and is therefore not required to make cuts. The United Nations agreement has made it mandatory for industrialised nations to reduce emissions by an average of 5 per cent from 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. "We want to join international efforts to cut emissions, following the international agreement in Bali last December," said Park Chun-kyu at the ministry's department of climate change. South Korea was one of about 130 countries that promised to take steps to curb emissions at the UN climate change conference in Bali in 2007. Seoul is part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, organised by George W. Bush, US president, to promote research and development of clean energy technology. South Korea is the world's ninth biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. Its annual emissions doubled between 1990 and 2005 to 591m tonnes. The rate of increase has eased but the ministry estimates that emissions are likely to rise 2.2 per cent every year until 2012 if the government does not take any action. The plans for a freeze, however, remain hazy. The government plans to tell provincial governments and public institutions to voluntarily curb emissions and to require organisations to de-clare emissions. It plans a 20 per cent reduction in emissions from non-industrial sectors such as households, commercial buildings, public enterprises and transport. The ministry will unveil more detailed measures later this year. It said the plan would not hurt economic development significantly since the government seeks to raise energy efficiency and encourage environmentally friendly technology. But the automobile industry could be hit by the plan as the government intends to issue guidelines on car emissions. The plan angered environmental groups. Lee Yoo-jin at Green Korea said: "We are just talking about keeping the status quo while others are drastically reducing emissions. The plan shows that the government has no strong will to actively cope with climate change and to reduce emissions." Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008