Emissions of Air Pollutants from Major Facilities Increased by 0.6% in 2025

Last year, emissions of air pollutants from major facilities across the country saw a slight increase compared to the previous year. This rise is attributed to an increase in monitored smokestacks and disruptions in the supply of low-sulfur fuel, leading to higher sulfur oxide emissions.

According to the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, the total emissions of air pollutants from large facilities equipped with automatic smokestack monitoring systems reached 208,937 tons in 2025, up 0.6% from 207,724 tons in 2024.

However, the average emissions per smokestack decreased by 3.4% to 56 tons. The overall increase in emissions is believed to be due to the rise in the number of monitored smokestacks.

As of the end of 2025, there were 954 facilities nationwide with automatic smokestack monitoring systems, a decrease of 11 from the previous year. In contrast, the number of monitored smokestacks increased by 119 to 3,708.

By pollutant type, dust emissions rose by 3.9% to 4,411 tons, while sulfur oxides increased by 5.2% to 63,666 tons. Conversely, nitrogen oxides decreased by 1.3% to 138,402 tons, and carbon monoxide emissions fell by 8.1% to 2,077 tons.

The Ministry attributed the increase in sulfur oxide emissions to disruptions in the supply of high-quality low-sulfur coal, a consequence of sanctions against Russia following the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In terms of industry, the iron and steel sector accounted for the largest share of emissions at 70,962 tons, representing 34% of the total. This was followed by the power generation sector at 59,203 tons (28.3%), cement manufacturing at 40,907 tons (19.6%), and petrochemicals at 23,815 tons (11.4%).

It is important to note that these statistics only reflect emissions from facilities with automatic smokestack monitoring systems and do not represent the total emissions of all facilities across regions and industries.

The Ministry is actively managing the concentration and emissions of air pollutants in real-time through the smokestack remote monitoring system, and this data is utilized for calculating air emission fees and managing total allowable emissions.

Kim Jin-sik, Director of the Air Quality Division at the Ministry, stated, "We will transparently disclose emission data measured by automatic smokestack monitoring systems and contribute to the establishment of rational air quality policies based on scientific analysis."