기후환경권과 국가 온실가스 감축목표의 헌법 합치성 검토: 탄소예산 접근법의 적용 = The Right to a Stable Climate and the Constitutionality of Republic of Korea's NDC: the Application of Carbon Budget Approach

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

“No country alone can stop global warming.” This reveals that all mankind shares a climate system together, and that the greenhouse gases emitted by humans anywhere affect the climate system regardless of where it is.
Therefore, in order to protect the people's rights to life and health and human life from the effects of climate system disturbances and the environmental rights, which are objective prerequisites for these rights, the nation's climate laws and policies must prioritize stabilizing the climate system.
Constitutional conformity should be determined by whether a country's goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions contribute sufficiently to the stabilization of the climate system in climate litigation. This is because, according to the Paris Agreement, the level of aspirations contained in the NDC of each State Party is expected to meet the global temperature goals and reflect the highest and progressive ambitions possible.
At this time, whether the level of emission reduction is sufficient can be determined by using the carbon budget as a measure. According to the carbon budget estimate and the government's reduction target scenario, Korea's carbon budget is exhausted in 2025 (1.5℃) or 2028 (1.7℃). The Republic of Korea must reduce greenhouse gas emissions (net-zero) from 2029, which is practically impossible. In the end, this indicates that the Republic of Korea's emission reduction target is not sufficient.
The government, therefore, can be evaluated as violating the claimant's right to life, health, and human life by failing to fulfill the level of protection ordered by the Constitution by setting emission reduction targets too low, or by violating climate environmental rights by allowing greenhouse gas emissions excessively.