Law to Cut Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 69% to 80% by 2040 to Pass National Assembly in August

[Financial News] An amendment to the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth, which defines the country's medium- to long-term Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets for 2035 to 2045 as a range rather than a single figure, is set to clear the National Assembly next month. The move comes as Speaker of the National Assembly Jung Sung-sik said on the 28th that he would speed up a plenary vote to address the law's constitutional issues.
At a press briefing that day, Jung said he would quickly put livelihood and reform legislation back on track. He singled out the carbon neutrality bill, saying, "We must pass the amendment to the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth, which has already been ruled inconsistent with the Constitution, by the end of August."
On the 22nd, the ruling and opposition parties jointly passed an amendment to the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth for Responding to the Climate Crisis at a subcommittee of the National Assembly's Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. The revision follows the Constitutional Court of Korea's ruling in August 2024 that the law was inconsistent with the Constitution because it did not specify concrete reduction targets. The bill had been delayed amid sharp disagreements between the two sides over emissions targets, but a compromise was reached to reflect them in range form.
Specifically, the bill sets medium- to long-term reduction targets for 2031 to 2049 in five-year increments and specifies them as ranges with upper and lower limits. Based on 2018 net greenhouse gas emissions, the 2035 target is set at 53% to 61%, the 2040 target at 69% to 80%, and the 2045 target at 84% to 90%, to be determined by presidential decree. The lower bound is based on the linear reduction path advocated by the People Power Party, which steadily cuts emissions until the 2050 carbon neutrality target. The upper bound follows the reduction path under the Paris Agreement, which the Democratic Party has emphasized, to limit the rise in the global average temperature to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.
To ease the burden on companies, the ETS will apply the lower bound of the NDC. The government has also established a legal basis for financial support for the industrial sector's research and development of greenhouse gas reduction technologies and related investment.

[email protected] Kim Yoon-ho Reporter