The country's Constitutional Court is siding with environmental activists in the first case of its kind in Asia.
South Korea's government is required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions over the next few decades, but it is not clear how. The Constitutional Court has ruled that this goes against constitutionally guaranteed rights and demands clarification.
"It has been established that we should guarantee our right to live lives that are safe from the climate crisis," says Yoon Hyeon-Jeong, one of the young activists who has driven the case through several similar lawsuits, to AFP.
When the lawsuits against the state were filed a few years ago, the activists used an embryo as a formal plaintiff, to emphasize that it is future generations who will be affected.
In 2021, South Korea announced that it would reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 290 million tons by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050. To achieve this, emissions need to decrease by 5.4% annually from 2023, but the country is currently not meeting this target.
The activists believe that the emission reduction targets need to be raised, but did not receive a favorable ruling from the court. However, the lack of a concrete plan for the work from 2031 means that an "excessive burden" is being placed on future generations, according to one of the judges.
The Environment Ministry in Seoul has announced that it will take the necessary measures.
