policy decisions(at the exclusion of lay persons and even local governments) to a decentralized energy system based largely on renewable energy, new actors, new technologies and new regulations. In short, the Republic of Korea is taking the first steps in an unprecedented experimental stage. This country case study explores the past and present energy policy paths and the related current policy development in the Republic of Korea. It further examines challenges to and opportunities for the country ’ s ambitious energy transition. 2. Past and present energy and climate mitigation policy 1. The energy mix In 2015, 287,479 million tonnes of oil equivalent(TOE) in primary energy were consumed in the Republic of Korea. Within that mix, petroleum accounted for 38.1 per cent, followed by coal(at 29.7 per cent), liquefied natural gas(at 15.2 per cent), nuclear power(at 12.1 per cent), new and renewable energy(at 4.5 per cent) and hydroelectric power(at 0.4 per cent), as shown in table 1. Energy consumption per capita was 5.64 TOE, and the country imported 94.8 per cent of its total energy that year. 2 Table 1: Energy supply and demand in the Republic of Korea Category 2015% share Primary energy(million TOE) 287,479 100 Coal 85,473 29.7 Petroleum 109,566 38.1 Liquefied natural gas 43,613 15.2 Hydro 1,223 0.4 Nuclear 34,765 12.1 Renewable energy 12,839 4.5 Final energy(millions TOE) 218,608 76 of TPES Note: TOE: tonnes of oil equivalent; TPES: total primary energy supply. Source: Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Energy Economics Institute, Yearbook of Energy Statistics(Seoul: Government of the Republic of Korea, 2016). The country ’ s population was 50.4 million in 2014 and slightly more than 51 million in 2015, ranking 26th in the world(table 2). 3 Its total primary energy supply(TPES) was 268.41 million TOE in 2014. The Republic of Korea is a power-intensive society: Total electricity consumption was 532.66 terawatt hours(TWh), which ranks it among the 10 largest energy-consuming nations worldwide. 4 Its per capita electricity consumption was 10.564 kilowatt hours(kWh) in 2014. Table 2: Energy characteristics of the Republic of Korea, 2014 2 Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Korea Energy Economics Institute, Yearbook of Energy Statistics (Seoul, 2016). 3 Korea Energy Economics Institute, 2016 Korea Energy Info(Seoul, 2017a). 4 International Energy Agency, Key World Energy Statistics(Paris, 2016). 6