It has been a few years since the concept of "carbon footprint" became popular among celebrities and politicians as well as CEOs around the globe. Although the idea has advertised the importance of CO2 emissions in global warming, as well as the critical state of climate change, it did relatively little to actually change people's actions. It was because the carbon footprint concept only stressed our impacts on the environment, and did not mention any ways to prevent or reduce the amount of CO2 emissions.

           The Korean government has introduced a creative policy that can help solve this problem. It is called "Eco Money", in which customers can receive points or other gifts by reducing the amount of their carbon emissions. The system is divided into mainly two parts. The first part is called the "Carbon Point System", and is directly related to reducing CO2 emissions. If a certain household saves a certain amount of spending on electricity, water usage, and gas, the family can get bonus points, or possibly gifts.

           The other part is called "Carbon Cashbag", and is focused on buying products that emit relatively little CO2 emissions. If a customer buys a low CO2 product, he or she may receive points. There are additional benefits of making a "Eco Money" card: you can visit national parks at a discounted price, and you get points for making the card itself. It seems like the "Eco Money" policy is an effective way to get people interested and take part in reducing CO2 emissions. I especially appreciated the fact that the government gave us these "points", which can give people the impression that doing something for the environment is not only meaningful but also beneficial to themselves.

           Yet it is also true that the policy has a few drawbacks. First of all, the policy itself wasn't properly introduced, and a lot of people lost interest in it after a few weeks. Also, the government got us confused by creating too many names such as Eco Money, Carbon Point, Carbon Cashbag, and even the Carbon Incentive. All of these names sound just the same, and virtually have the same meaning, making us exhausted and in turn, hesitate to sign up. Lastly, it only stressed on the fact that we could receive points, without explaining where we could use them.

           Nonetheless, I appreciate that the government is pushing ahead a creative policy with a fervor never seen before.