South Korean lawmakers on Wednesday took the first legislative step toward establishing legally binding greenhouse gas emissions targets beyond 2030, as a parliamentary committee approved a bill designed to address a landmark Constitutional Court ruling that found the country’s climate law failed to adequately protect future generations.
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The court, an independent apex body, reviews laws for constitutional compliance, handles impeachments, and safeguards fundamental rights.
The amendment to the Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth Framework Act was approved by a legislative subcommittee under the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Climate Crisis, which scrutinises climate legislation before it can proceed through parliament. The bill must still be approved by the full special committee, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and a plenary session of the National Assembly before becoming law.
If enacted, the legislation would require the government to set legally binding medium-term emissions reduction targets every five years between 2035 and 2045, as well as annual and sector-specific reduction pathways through 2050, replacing what had previously been government policy plans with statutory obligations.
South Korea, Asia’s fourth-largest economy and one of the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitters, has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and currently aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent from 2018 levels by 2030. However, the existing law sets no legally mandated emissions pathway between 2031 and 2049.
Nearly two years ago, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that omission as unconstitutional, saying the absence of post-2030 targets allowed governments to delay emissions cuts and shifted an unfair share of the burden onto future generations.
Under the bill, South Korea would cut net greenhouse gas emissions by 53 per cent to 61 per cent by 2035 from 2018 levels, while the 2040 target would be set within a range of 69 per cent to 80 per cent and the 2045 target between 84 per cent and 90 per cent.
Rather than fixing a single figure in law for 2040 and 2045, the legislation establishes upper and lower bounds, with the government required to determine the final targets through a presidential decree.
The lower end of each range would serve as the benchmark for regulations, including the country’s emissions trading scheme, while the upper end would represent a more ambitious goal reflecting technological advances and evolving international climate commitments.
The legislation would also require the government to establish annual emissions reduction targets and sector-specific pathways covering industries such as power generation, manufacturing, buildings, transport and waste management to ensure progress toward each five-year milestone.
For example, annual reduction targets for 2031 to 2034, needed to achieve the 2035 goal, would have to be completed by the end of 2026. Similar schedules would apply to subsequent target periods through 2050.
The bill also expands the principles guiding future emissions targets.
In addition to considering economic conditions and energy policy, the government would be required to take into account scientific assessments by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), international commitments including the Paris Agreement, the impact on climate-vulnerable groups and the principle of intergenerational equity.
The legislation says emissions targets should reflect South Korea’s fair contribution to global climate action and should not shift an excessive share of the emissions reduction burden onto future generations.
The bill represents a compromise between environmental groups, which have called for legally binding long-term emissions pathways, and industry, which has warned that overly stringent targets could undermine manufacturing competitiveness and increase energy and investment costs.
The final ambition of South Korea’s post-2035 climate policy will depend on where the government ultimately sets the 2040 and 2045 targets within the legal ranges through presidential decrees, if the bill becomes law.
