South Korea Passes Carbon Neutrality Law Amendment, Critics Decry Burden on Future Generations

South Korea's National Assembly has passed an amendment to the Carbon Neutrality Act, establishing concrete greenhouse gas reduction targets for the period between 2031 and 2049. This legislative move comes in response to a constitutional court ruling that found the previous law insufficient in setting clear interim goals.

The revised law sets the carbon reduction target for 2035 at 53-61% compared to 2018 levels, aligning with the nation's previously announced goal for that year. For 2040, the target is set at 69-80%, with the specific figure to be determined by presidential decree by June 30, 2031. Similarly, the target for 2045 is set at 84-90%, to be finalized by presidential decree by June 30, 2036.

A key point of contention is the adoption of a "linear reduction" pathway as the baseline for these targets. While the law also outlines an "early reduction" pathway, which would front-load emissions cuts to lessen the burden on future generations, regulations such as emissions trading are tied only to the lower end of the range – the linear reduction path. Critics argue this effectively makes the linear path the de facto standard, placing a disproportionate responsibility on younger generations to achieve climate goals.

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This revised amendment sets the long-term reduction path in a range format, linking major climate regulatory policies to the lower limit. This is effectively a deception, with only the lower limit, which burdens future generations, being the norm with regulatory power.

The original Carbon Neutrality Act, which declared "2050 Carbon Neutrality" as a national vision, was found to be unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court in August 2024. The court ruled that while the 2030 target of 40% reduction was acceptable, the lack of specific quantitative targets for 2031-2049 failed to adequately protect citizens' environmental rights.

Environmental and civic groups have vehemently opposed the amendment. In a statement, the "Climate Crisis Emergency Action" group criticized the law, labeling it a "deception" and "trickery." They argued that by setting the main climate regulations to the lower end of the target range (linear reduction), the upper range (early reduction) serves only as a superficial gesture. The groups condemned the legislature and the government for disregarding the Constitutional Court's ruling and public opinion, warning that citizens will not forget this "responsibility" in the face of accelerating climate disasters.

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The passage of this amended Carbon Neutrality Act is expected to provide a foundation for fulfilling and supporting emission reduction goals and responding to the climate crisis, which are national tasks.