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Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea - press release

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Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea - complaint

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Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea - decision

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On September 28, 2020, more than 60 solar power plant owners and residents near biomass plants sued the South Korean government in the South Korean Constitutional Court, challenging biomass subsidies on climate and pollution grounds. The plaintiffs allege that the South Korean New and Renewable Energy Promotion Act and regulations treat biomass generation as renewable and low or zero carbon, thus making it eligible for significant subsidies. According to the plaintiffs, however, biomass generation leads to forest devastation, higher CO2 emissions than coal, and local air pollution. As a result, South Korea's biomass policy violates South Korean constitutional environmental rights.

The plaintiffs also alleged that Korean biomass policy infringes on the property rights of solar power plant owners and other renewable energy developers. They argued that the false classification of biomass burning as carbon neutral and renewable diverts subsidies away from other, truly carbon neutral resources.

On October 27, 2020, the Constitutional Court dismissed the case. Under Article 68(1) of the Constitutional Court Act, a constitutional complaint requires that an individual’s constitutional rights be directly infringed by an act or omission of public authority. The Court held that the provisions in question, which define certain solid fuels as renewable and promote their use, constitute general policy measures that, by themselves, neither impose legal rights or obligations on the plaintiffs nor alter their legal status. The Court further noted that, aside from public controversy and local opposition surrounding the biomass development projects, there was no evidence that the provisions directly infringed upon the plaintiffs’ constitutional rights. Accordingly, the Court dismissed the petition, finding that the plantiffs failed to demonstrate a sufficient legal nexus between the alleged infringement and their constitutional rights. 

Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Korean Biomass Plaintiffs v. South Korea - press release

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Finance