South Korea’s Historic Climate Litigation Ruling Mandates Stronger Carbon Reduction Targets

South Korea’s Landmark Climate Litigation Ruling

A significant ruling emerged from South Korea’s top court on Thursday, declaring that the country’s measures to combat climate change are inadequate to protect the rights of its citizens. The court mandated that the government establish firm carbon-reduction targets for the year 2031 and beyond. This ruling marks a historic milestone as the first climate litigation decision of its kind in Asia.

Since the year 2020, the Constitutional Court has been examining a series of complaints lodged by over 250 plaintiffs, with approximately one-third being children or teenagers at the time of filing. These individuals argued that the government’s greenhouse gas reduction targets, along with its implementation plans, were not only weak but also unconstitutional. They contended that these inadequacies jeopardized the rights of citizens, particularly those of future generations.

Under South Korea’s Carbon Neutral Act, initially enacted in 2010, the nation was required to set a goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least 35 percent by the year 2030 compared to 2018 levels. Currently, the government has set a more ambitious target of a 40 percent reduction. However, the plaintiffs argued that even this target falls short in addressing the urgent challenges of climate change.

In its ruling issued on Thursday, the Constitutional Court did not criticize the existing 2030 target. Instead, it highlighted that the law lacked specific carbon-emission reduction targets for the years between 2031 and 2050, the timeline during which the country aims to achieve carbon neutrality. Consequently, the court determined that the constitutional rights of future generations had been infringed upon.

The court has given the National Assembly until the end of February 2025 to revise the legislation accordingly. The ruling emphasized the responsibility of legislators, stating, “Future generations will be more exposed to the impact of climate change, but their participation in today’s democratic political process is limited. Therefore, the legislators have the duty and responsibility to make concrete laws for mid- and long-term greenhouse gas reduction plans.”

The plaintiffs, along with their legal representatives, celebrated the verdict as a “historic” victory. They remarked, “This ruling marks the first triumph in climate litigation in Asia. It could serve as a pivotal turning point, inspiring further legal actions across the region to challenge inadequate climate policies.”