South Korean court hears children's climate change case against government

(Reuters, 23 Apr 2024) One of South Korea's highest courts began on Tuesday a public hearing into a case filed by two dozen young environmental activists against the government, claiming that it had failed to protect them by not addressing climate change.

The hearing at the Constitutional Court is the first climate-related litigation first in Asia, the plaintiffs said, and includes four petitions from children and infants dating back to 2020, including one by a foetus at the time who was nicknamed Woodpecker.

It also comes weeks after Europe's top human rights court ruled that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change, and as courts in Australia, Brazil and Peru also consider human rights-based climate cases. "South Korea's current climate plans are not sufficient to keep temperature increase within the 1.5 degrees Celsius, thus violating the state's obligation to protect fundamental rights," the plaintiffs said in a media statement. Scientists say a global temperature rise beyond 1.5C, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, above the preindustrial average will trigger catastrophic and irreversible impacts, from melting ice sheets to the collapse of ocean currents.

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Reuters, 23 Apr 2024: South Korean court hears children's climate change case against government