Climate voters take big step forward to protect environment[Editorial]

Choi Jae-chun (far right), a senior lecturer at Ewha Womans University\'s Faculty of Eco-Science, holds a picket at the \

One bright spot in the negativity-filled campaign for the general election on April 10 is the emergence of "climate voters.” According to a survey of 17,000 people nationwide by the environmental organization “Climate Political Wind,” one in three voters said they would vote based on candidates’ climate pledges. Yet, politicians' consciousness has not caught up with that of voters as the election campaign has been dominated by over-the-top development pledges and ideological wars.

It is said that there will be more severe heat waves this year compared to a year, which was the hottest year on record. There are also warnings that 1.5 degrees, which is the global average temperature rise limit set by the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, could be breached for the first time. It is no wonder that "declarations of climate voters" have been made in various parts of the country, from college students to the elderly over the age of 60 ahead of the general election.

According to a survey by environmental organizations, three in five voters said they would seriously consider voting for a candidate or party, regardless of their political views, if they liked the candidate's or party's climate pledge. In South Jeolla Province, which suffered a severe drought last year, farmers in their 60s have emerged as a symbol of climate voters as they demanded active climate response. Regardless of where they live, voters are already accepting the climate crisis as their problem which should be solved here and now.

However, the atmosphere in the political circle is quite different. Both major parties have made climate responses as their main pledges, which is a step forward. But their carbon neutrality pledge remains at the superficial level. Policy debates on whether nuclear power can be considered as green energy have disappeared, and the necessary green financing and specific implementation plans have not been presented. Under the “Carbon Neutral 2050 Plan,” old coal power plants, including Taean Thermal Power Plant Units 1 and 2, will be shut down in stages starting next year, but measures for "just transition" to guarantee jobs for power plant workers are not properly discussed. On the contrary, President Yoon Suk-yeol and the Seoul Metropolitan Government are only pouring out pledges to lift the green belt in time for the general election, facing criticism that their insincere climate pledges are nothing more than “greenwashing.”

Only when politics changes can the climate change. Voters have taken a big step toward making this year the "first year of climate politics." Now it is time for the political sphere to respond. Korea's lagging climate politics should not be stuck in a rut with patchwork climate pledges. The new National Assembly needs more climate politicians to represent climate voters and a permanent, bipartisan climate task force should be established to lead climate action.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.