Young people won climate lawsuits in South Korea – news – Climate

Around 200 young litigants celebrated outside the court building in Seoul after the ruling was made clear. – I hope today’s decision will lead to major changes so that children do not have to go to such lawsuits to the Constitutional Court, 12-year-old Han Je-ah told Reuters. She is among the young activists, many of them children, who are behind the lawsuit. – The climate crisis has a huge impact on our lives and there is no time to lose, she told reporters outside the court building. Must change the law 12-year-old Han Je-ah was one of the plaintiffs. Here she meets the media after the ruling in the Constitutional Court. Photo: Reuters The ruling states that South Korea’s climate goals are in violation of the constitution, writes AFP. The reason is that the law does not protect basic human rights, nor does it have climate targets that protect future generations. The court writes that South Korea’s law from 2010 to reach zero emissions by 2050 lacks what it calls “quantitative targets” for how reductions between 2031 and 2049. Parliament has now been told by the court to change the law by February 2026 according to the ruling. The Constitutional Court in South Korea’s capital Seoul Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP Climate Change South Korea is one of the countries in the world with the highest CO₂ emissions. According to the EU’s database Edgar, the country is in 9th place among those with the largest emissions. Also measured per capita, South Korea has large emissions. With 11.6 tonnes of CO₂ per inhabitant (in 2022), the country is joint first in East Asia, far ahead of countries such as Japan and China. Compared to Norway, South Korea emits more than 50 percent more per inhabitant. More victories for activists Rulings in South Korea come after activists have won in several lawsuits around the world. In April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said Switzerland had failed to live up to its human rights obligations because it had done too little to combat climate change. Also in the Supreme Court in the US state of Montana, a group of young people won a similar lawsuit earlier this year. Published 30.08.2024, at 23.47



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