SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥� South Korea鈥檚 Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the government to back its climate goals with more concrete plans for action through 2049, handing a partial victory to climate campaigners who say the country鈥檚 failure to cut emissions faster amounts to a violation of their rights.
The court, which weighs the constitutionality of laws, mandated the rewriting of the country's climate law while ruling on four climate cases raised by 255 plaintiffs, including many young people who were children or teenagers when they began filing the complaints against the government and lawmakers in 2020.
鈥淭oday鈥檚 ruling confirms that climate change is an issue related to our fundamental rights and everyone has a right to be safe from climate change,鈥� Sejong Youn, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, said in a news conference outside the court.
鈥淭he ball is now with the government and the National Assembly,鈥� he said, referring to South Korea鈥檚 parliament.
The campaigners argued that South Korea鈥檚 current goal of cutting carbon emissions by 35% from 2018 levels by 2030 is inadequate to manage the impact of climate change, and that such objectives weren鈥檛 backed by sufficient implementation plans.
They also pointed out that the country has yet to establish plans to reduce carbon emissions after 2031, despite its goals of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The plaintiffs allege that South Korea鈥檚 lax climate policies violate their human rights by leaving them vulnerable to future deteriorations in the environment and climate-related harm.
The court did not require South Korea鈥檚 government to set up a more ambitious 2030 target under its carbon neutrality act and also rejected the plaintiffs鈥� calls for more specific plans to ensure implementation, saying that they failed to demonstrate that the policy was unconstitutional.
However, the court did uphold the plaintiffs鈥� argument that the country needed to establish plans for cutting emissions from 2031 to 2049 and ordered the government to modify the carbon neutrality law by Feb. 28, 2026, to include such plans.
Lee Eun-ae, one of the court鈥檚 nine justices, said the lack of concrete plans to reduce emissions after 2031 is unconstitutional because it fails to sufficiently protect basic rights, infringes on the environmental rights of plaintiffs and 鈥渢ransfers an excessive burden鈥� to future generations.
The South Korean Ministry of Environment said in a statement that it respects the court鈥檚 decision and plans to 鈥渇aithfully implement follow-up measures.鈥�
Activists and lawyers representing the plaintiffs welcomed the court鈥檚 decision, expressing hope that it could inspire similar action in Asia and other parts of the world. They urged the government and legislators to strengthen the country鈥檚 2030 target as well as set up plans from 2031 to 2049.
Han Je-ah, one of the youngest plaintiffs at 12, said the ruling felt 鈥渏oyful and satisfying like a wish coming true.鈥�
鈥淭he climate crisis is not a future problem, but a reality that everyone is experiencing now,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope this ruling will bring bigger changes so that children like me don鈥檛 have to file constitutional complaints in the future."
The government of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who took office in 2022, has focused much of its energy policy on promoting nuclear-generated electricity. Environmentalists have criticized South Korea over what they see as a weak commitment to reduce dependence on coal and other fossil fuel and promote renewable energy sources. South Korea currently gets about 9% of its electricity from renewable sources, significantly lower than the 34% average among rich nations making up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
The Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, an activist group, criticized the court for not forcing the country to strengthen its climate target. In a statement, the group said the government shouldn鈥檛 get a 鈥渇ree pass鈥� on its 鈥減assive greenhouse gas reduction targets that are increasing critical environmental risks and future uncertainties.鈥�
But Mie Asaoka, a lawyer who is supporting a similar climate campaign in Japan, called the South Korean ruling a 鈥渟ignificant judicial decision in Asia鈥� and expressed hope that it would serve as a 鈥渃atalyst for change鈥� in Japan.
She said Japanese plaintiffs have recently filed a climate lawsuit against 10 thermal power companies while calling for the country to commit to stronger plans to cut carbon emissions for 2030 and 2035.
Kim Tong-hyung, The Associated Press
