In an era where global climate change responses increasingly manifest as unilateral trade measures by major countries, cooperation continues to evolve into novel forms. This research defines Green Economy Agreements (GEAs) as innovative cooperative frameworks that seek to achieve a balanced realization of environmental protection and economic growth, centered on carbon neutrality. These agreements aim to generate new economic opportunities through cross-border trade and investment in green economies while establishing stable climate-trade cooperative relationships through regulatory harmonization for climate change response.

Currently, GEAs are being implemented in various forms, including non-binding MOUs with partnerships, FTAs that integrate climate change and environmental policies with trade policies, and independent climate-trade treaties. These agreements can be broadly categorized into two types: comprehensive green economy transition agreements pursuing environmental transformation of economic structures, and cooperation agreements focusing on specific climate change response measures such as carbon reduction collaboration.

Notable examples of trade agreements for green economy transition include the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement, the sustainable development chapter of the EU-New Zealand FTA, and the Australia-Singapore Green Economy Agreement. Korea is pursuing this comprehensive approach through environmental chapters in existing FTAs and partnerships such as the Korea-Australia Green Economy Partnership and the Korea-EU Green Partnership. Meanwhile, cooperation agreements specialized in climate change response focus on specific mechanisms like cross-border carbon credit transfer, exemplified by Switzerland's Paris Agreement Implementation Agreement and Japan's Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) bilateral memoranda. As of 2024, Korea has established basic climate change cooperation agreements with seven countries and is conducting additional negotiations with over 20 nations.

Global and Korean GEAs are structured around five core domains: energy transition, environmental goods and services, technological cooperation, market mechanisms, and implementation support. The energy transition domain encompasses clean energy development and utilization centered on renewable energy and hydrogen, along with sector-specific decarbonization challenges in transportation, industry, and agriculture. The environmental goods and services domain addresses trade facilitation through list compilation, non-tariff barrier reduction, government procurement expansion, and the establishment of standards and certification systems. The technological cooperation domain focuses on R&D and commercialization of core technologies such as CCUS, while the market mechanism domain includes participation in international carbon markets, establishment of MRV systems, and promotion of ESG investment. The implementation support domain defines governance systems including capacity building for just transition, stakeholder engagement, and dispute resolution.

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As GEAs pursue climate change response and sustainable economic growth, the scope of related goods and services continues to expand. A comparative analysis of recently concluded GEAs reveals varying scopes of environmental goods: the Australia-Singapore Green Economy Agreement designates 372 items at the HS6 level, the UK-New Zealand FTA includes 293 items, and the EU-New Zealand FTA lists 48 items. While the Australia-Singapore agreement encompasses the most items, the quantity alone cannot determine the agreement's sophistication, as the nature and scope of environmental goods differ significantly across agreements.

At the enterprise level, approximately 30,000 firms annually export environmental goods as defined in the UK-New Zealand and EU-New Zealand FTAs. Despite entry and exit dynamics, the number of exporting firms remains relatively stable. These environmental goods exporters demonstrate notably higher total sales, sales per employee, and R&D expenditure, indicating the capital-intensive and innovation-driven nature of the sector. Given that different countries define environmental goods according to their interests, strategic approaches aligned with Korea's industrial conditions are essential for future GEA negotiations.

The economic impact analysis employs general equilibrium mode, especially GTAP E-Power model, to simulate various cooperation scenarios. Results reveal differentiated effects across partner country groups. From Korea's perspective, technological cooperation proves most effective with nations that have completed carbon neutrality legislation, while carbon credit linkage also shows high effectiveness compared to other country combinations. Market opening and tariff reduction mechanisms demonstrate greater impact with countries in the policy development phase. For partner countries, those without NDC submissions show the highest expected benefits from technological cooperation with Korea.

Regarding Korea’s strategic positioning, Chapter 4 analyzes Korea’s green economy cooperation policies through four critical domains - technology, supply chains, investment, and international mitigation - that implement the key GEA components outlined in Chapter 2. The analysis evaluates current policies against recent GEA trends to develop actionable recommendations for an effective roadmap and implementation strategy. The country's climate technology capabilities currently stand at approximately 80% of advanced nations’ levels, with notable gaps in hydrogen, fuel cells, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies. The government is actively pursuing international collaboration with technology leaders such as the United States, Germany, and Japan to secure foundational technologies, participate in large-scale demonstration projects, and establish international technical standards. However, challenges persist, including shortages of specialized personnel, financial constraints, and difficulties in market localization.

Korea’s green supply chain cooperation policy aims to secure stable supplies of critical resources for future industries such as hydrogen, batteries, and essential minerals while strengthening supply chain resilience. Given the country's high dependence on imports for crucial resources like lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements, diversifying import sources and developing green supply chain infrastructure are paramount. The government has established domestic legal and policy frameworks while fostering strategic partnerships with resource-rich countries through MOUs focusing on resource development and processing cooperation.

In terms of international investment cooperation, Korea's approach combines government-led bilateral agreements, ODA linkages, and collaboration with international organizations, alongside public-private partnerships involving various councils, project development, and financial support measures. Recent GEAs demonstrate a trend toward linking climate and environmental sectors with trade and investment, emphasizing cooperation in clean energy investment expansion and promoting sustainable finance mechanisms. The private sector's international cooperation is expanding, primarily through voluntary cooperation groups such as the Hydrogen Business Council.

Korea's international mitigation cooperation policy encompasses international reduction projects based on climate change cooperation agreements, mitigation cooperation through FTAs, and initiatives linked with ODA. A notable feature of recent GEAs is their provision for cooperation in developing, operating, and participating in carbon markets. Some agreements extend beyond GHG reduction outcomes to include objectives for investment expansion and export of green technologies or products.

The research proposes a modular agreement structure centered on four pillars: trade, technology, investment, and emissions reduction. This is accompanied by a phased implementation strategy: developing a Korea-specific model in the short term (by 2028), implementing an integrated K-Green Solution Package for technology, human resources, and financial support in the medium term (by 2035), and ultimately establishing a comprehensive Asia-Pacific climate trade governance framework in the long term. This research provides strategic insights for policymakers navigating challenges of intensifying nationalism and diminishing reduction commitments, offering practical strategies for effective international climate cooperation while securing economic growth opportunities. The findings underscore the importance of tailored approaches to international partnerships, strategic resource allocation, and innovative policy mechanisms in advancing global climate objectives while maintaining economic competitiveness.