SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s Constitutional Court on Thursday ordered the government to back up its climate goals with more concrete action plans through 2049, a partial victory for climate activists who say the country’s failure to cut emissions faster amounts to a violation of their rights.
The court, which reviews the constitutionality of laws, made the assessment in ruling on four climate cases brought by 254 plaintiffs, many of whom were children or teenagers when they filed complaints against the government and lawmakers in 2020.
They argued that South Korea’s current target of reducing carbon emissions by 35% from 2018 levels by 2030 is not sufficient to manage the impacts of climate change. Moreover, such targets were not supported by sufficient implementation plans.
They also pointed out that the country has yet to draw up plans to reduce carbon emissions after 2031, despite its stated goals of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The plaintiffs allege that South Korea’s allegedly lax climate policies violate their human rights by leaving them vulnerable to future environmental degradation and climate-related harm.
The court did not require the South Korean government to set a more ambitious 2030 target under the carbon neutrality law. It also rejected the plaintiffs’ requests to make more specific plans to ensure its implementation, saying they failed to demonstrate that the policy was unconstitutional.
However, the court agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument that the country should draw up plans to reduce emissions between 2031 and 2049. It also ordered the government to amend the Carbon Neutrality Act by February 28, 2026, to include such plans.
The South Korean government has not yet commented on the ruling.