Urgent push for climate action
Asia’s first constitutional court ruling on carbon neutrality
The Constitutional Court delivered a notable ruling, Thursday, which could reinvigorate efforts to combat climate change. The court found that part of South Korea’s carbon neutrality law is inconsistent with the Constitution, specifically for failing to adequately protect people’s basic rights by not detailing emission reduction goals beyond 2031.
The ruling, the first of its kind in Korea and Asia, came four years and five months after civic groups, including youth and children, filed a constitutional petition challenging the government’s insufficient response to climate change. The court meaningfully acknowledged that “future generations will be more exposed to the climate crisis but are limited in their participation in the current democratic processes.” Additionally, the court noted that the government had not implemented adequate measures to protect people’s basic rights.
Climate litigations have become more
frequent recently, reflecting the global struggle to address extreme climate change while adhering to the Paris Agreement goals of limiting the long-term temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and maintaining sustainable economic growth. This ruling parallels the 2021 verdict by Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court, which found that Germany’s climate law was inadequate in addressing future emissions reductions and potentially infringed on future generations’ freedoms. Similarly, a state court in Montana ruled in August 2023 that failing to consider climate change when approving fossil fuel projects was unconstitutional, resulting in a victory for the young plaintiffs. Comparable cases are also underway in Asia, including Japan and Taiwan.
The Constitutional Court’s ruling was a unanimous decision, focusing specifically on Article 8, Paragraph 1 of the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Coping with Climate Crisis. This article mandates the government to set national medium- and long-te
rm greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under a presidential decree, aiming for a reduction of no less than 35 percent from 2018 levels by 2030. However, the court found that there was no quantitative greenhouse gas reduction target for the period from 2031 to 2049, which it deemed insufficient and a violation of people’s basic rights. Nevertheless, the court concluded that the government’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared to 2018 levels did not infringe on people’s basic rights.
Legal precedents and rulings aside, extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts and floods have significantly impacted the globe. The prolonged heat wave experienced this summer should have alarmed us to take more robust action in response to the rapidly changing climate. The Korea Meteorological Administration recorded 20.2 days of “tropical nights,” in Korea, or nights where the minimum temperature does not fall below 25 degrees Celsius, the highest number on record.
Climate change
has driven up the prices of fruits and vegetables. According to an August report by the Bank of Korea, which examined the correlations between Korea’s Climate Risk Index (CRI), industrial productivity and inflation, extreme weather contributed to about 10 percent of the increase in consumer prices since last year. The government contended that the existing law is sufficient given Korea’s manufacturing-based economy and the burden on Korean businesses, but this argument lacks merit in light of the recent volatile weather patterns.
Following the court’s ruling, the National Assembly must revise the law by Feb. 28, 2026. Failure to do so will render the current law ineffective. The government and the National Assembly need to collaborate to meet this deadline. Kim Sang-hyup, co-chair of the Presidential Commission on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth, expressed that it is significant for the people’s right to protection from the climate crisis to be addressed at the constitutional level. He hopes this will ser
ve as a catalyst for increased engagement in efforts to combat climate change.
Source: Yonhap News Agency