South Korean Court Orders Government to Strengthen Climate Change Measures In a groundbreaking decision, South Korea’s Constitutional Court has ruled that the government’s measures for addressing climate change are inadequate to protect the rights of its citizens. The court has instructed the government to establish specific carbon reduction targets for 2031 and beyond, marking the first ruling of its kind in Asia. The court's decision comes after a review of complaints from over 250 plaintiffs, including a significant number of children and teenagers, who argued that the government’s greenhouse gas reduction targets were insufficient and unconstitutional. While the country had set a goal of reducing carbon emissions by at least 35 percent by 2030, with a 40 percent reduction in place, the plaintiffs contended that these targets were insufficient to mitigate the effects of climate change. The Constitutional Court determined that the law had failed to outline carbon emission reduction targets for the years leading up to 2050, when South Korea aims to achieve carbon neutrality, thus violating the constitutional rights of future generations. As a result, the National Assembly has been given until the end of February 2025 to revise the law. The plaintiffs and their legal representatives have hailed the verdict as a historic victory and hope it will serve as a catalyst for further climate litigation across Asia. They emphasized the importance of involving younger generations in the decision-making process, with one plaintiff expressing the desire to highlight the significance of addressing climate change through legal action. The Ministry of Environment has stated that it respects the court’s ruling and will take necessary follow-up measures in response. Notably, this ruling follows similar decisions in other countries such as Germany and Switzerland, indicating a growing trend of regarding climate change as a matter of human and constitutional rights. Climate activists anticipate that this landmark ruling in South Korea will have a ripple effect on climate litigation and policy in other Asian nations, where similar cases have been raised. They believe it marks the beginning of a just response to the climate crisis through constitutional and governmental responsibility.