Korean babies blame their government for climate change

More and more people are aware of the danger changing of the climate, from the youngest to the oldest people. In fact, if a group of elderly women who won a lawsuit against the Swiss government for their climate inactionnow something similar has happened in South Korea, but just the other extreme. Among the plaintiffs there is a group children and babiessome of whom weren’t even born yet.

In total they joined 4 lawsuits filed between 2020 and 2023including names 200 people, 60 of them are children or infants. Only one of them has not yet been born. His demand, called Woodpecker et al v. South Koreastarring this child, who has already been born and is 18 months old, and 61 other children, all of them up to 5 years.

It is logical that his parents filed the lawsuit on his behalf. The goal is to clarify how government inaction on climate can interfere with people’s lives. future generations. The last hearing in the case took place just yesterday, May 21, but it is expected that a decision will not be made until the end of this year. Be that as it may, these demands are already causing a lot of talk and, of course, have deeply penetrated public opinion. The first goal has been achieved.

Why are they suing Korea for climate inaction?

The plaintiffs claim the South Korean government is failing to protect fundamental rights of children and adults. These include the rights to life, the pursuit of happiness, general liberty, property, and a healthy environment.

It is clear that government inaction on climate could greatly impact the last mentioned right. But the truth is that climate change indirectly affects everyone else. Especially in the case of children, whose future will be determined to a much greater extent global warming.

Broken Promises

South Korea relies heavily on fossil fuels, making it a major emitter of greenhouse gases. Your government has committed to reducing these emissions by 2030 until 40% lower than 2018 levels. This sounds ambitious, but the truth is that the result will still be very far from the limits set worldwide by the Paris Agreement. According to the Climate Action Tracker, which tracks global climate commitments, “if all countries maintained this level of ambition, it would lead to 3°C warming by the end of the centurycompared to pre-industrial levels.” Considering that the Paris Agreement stipulated that temperatures should not exceed 2°C or, if possible, 1.5°C, it is clear that the Korean government’s commitment is not enough.

That is why the population, both adults and children, rebelled against climate inaction.

Pioneers of East Asia

In fact, there are more and more such claims. In addition to what is represented by the old Swiss women, others are known in the rest of Europe, as well as in Russia. USA, India, Canada, Australia and Brazil. However, the Korean lawsuit is the first East Asia.

Environmental groups are very proud of the plaintiffs. And, whatever the outcome, the way they condemned their country’s inaction on climate change is very telling and could serve to raise awareness among more people, both in Asia and the rest of the world.

It is unclear whether this type of demand has a real effect at the climate change level, but it does have an effect at the social level. Therefore, given the importance social action against climate change, the consequences may not be visible now, but sooner or later they will become much more obvious.