이산화탄소 포집과 저장에 관한 법적 쟁점 - 포집을 중심으로 -

The world is still relying on fossil fuel for energy production, and this in turn is known to be accelerating global warming. As a result, the world is adopting a variety of policies to reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere. Among those polices, active research is being conducted on the technology of capturing and storing CO2, and various states are providing legislative support to facilitate further research. Korea is considering the enactment of an “Act on CO2 Capture and Storage.” This paper analyzes the issues that need to be considered when establishing the act. First, it needs to be decided whether the title of the legislation should be an “Act on CO2 Capture and Storage” or an “Act on CO2 Capture and Disposal.” The latter title will include the notions of conversion and recycling. Second, the carbon dioxide capture stream can have a great impact on the operators who are obligated to capture carbon dioxide. This paper looks over how carbon dioxide capture stream should be defined. Third, this paper discusses whether the CO2 stream should be considered as waste or hazardous waste. According to current legislation, the CO2 stream does not fall into the scope of hazardous waste. However, legislation is needed for its regulation. Fourth, this paper looked over the issue of to whom the obligation of CO2 capture should be designated. Should the obligator be limited to newly constructed fossil fuel generators? To decide whether operators emitting CO2 over a certain scale should be obligated as well, this paper analyzes a relevant Korean Constitutional Court decision to determine whether there are constitutional complications if existent large scale CO2 emitters are included. Deciding whether the CO2 capture and disposal policy is our response to climate change is our choice to make. For the implementation of this policy, the process of examining and reflecting various opinions need to be done.