[The Hwankyung Ilbo] The 21st National Assembly passed a resolution calling for emergency response to the climate crisis on September 24 last year with 252 out of 258 lawmakers present. The ruling and opposition parties had no separate consensus on responding to the climate crisis. Are lawmakers keeping their promises?

Greenpeace conducted evaluation work by investigating major parliamentary activities related to climate crisis response by all 300 lawmakers of the 21st National Assembly along with the Green New Deal Citizens' Action, a civic group to respond to the climate crisis.

The target period was one year from May 30, 2020 to May 31, 2021, the opening day of the 21st National Assembly, and the survey and evaluation were conducted on legislation on climate crisis response and remarks on climate crisis response at the plenary session and standing committee. 

According to the survey, 269 lawmakers participated in legislative activities related to climate crisis, such as proposing bills or holding debates, but only 68 lawmakers have proposed legislative bills related to climate crisis.

As a result of aggregating the overall scores by lawmakers, Rep. Yang Won-young (unaffiliated), Kim Sung-hwan (Democratic Party), Lee So-young (Democratic Party), Huh Young (Democratic Party), and Min Hyung-bae (Democratic Party) were ranked in the top five. 

In the opposition parties, the related parliamentary activities of Yoo Dong (power of the people), Kang Eun-mi (justice party), and Yong Hye-in (basic income party) were relatively prominent.

A total of 237 bills were proposed in the first year after the opening of the 21st National Assembly, but only 1.52 percent of them were directly related to climate crisis response with 156 bills.

In addition, only 34 bills were actually dealt with. 122 cases were pending, including the Climate Crisis Response Act, which specifies the realization of carbon neutrality and the rise in greenhouse gas reduction targets in South Korea.

The resolution calling for emergency response to the climate crisis, which was voted in favor by most lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties last year, stated that the government will actively raise the national greenhouse gas reduction target in 2030 and establish a long-term low-carbon development strategy with the aim of zero greenhouse gas emissions in 2050. However, this promise has yet to be kept.   

Carbon-neutral legislation has already been anchored in Europe and other countries. Sweden passed a bill in 2017 that set its carbon neutrality targets, while Britain, France, Denmark, New Zealand, and Hungary also legislated carbon neutrality.

If the South Korean National Assembly passes a bill to cope with the climate crisis, it will be the seventh country to legislate carbon neutrality.

Currently, the National Assembly's Environmental Labor Committee's subcommittee on environmental legislation is reviewing seven bills submitted to respond to the climate crisis, including carbon neutral goals.

There are also differences between ruling and opposition parties on whether to include or strengthen the national greenhouse gas reduction target in 2030, but scientifically speaking, the law must stipulate at least 50% reduction by 2030 to achieve the carbon neutral target in 2050.

"If carbon emissions continue as the current trend continues, the government and the National Assembly will reach carbon emissions limits in six years and four months, but the ongoing discussion is lower than the global community and the scientific community's recommended goal of reducing greenhouse gas by more than 50 percent," said Jeong Sang-hoon, a climate energy campaigner.

He also stressed, "The National Assembly, the government, and presidential candidates should actively prepare practical policies to respond to the climate crisis and transform energy."