Legislative opinions on the climate crisis
In a survey given to members of the National Assembly, South Korea’s legislative branch, more than 80 percent of respondents found the climate crisis a highly important topic in legislative activities. This is unsurprising as the climate crisis bleeds into all areas of society, worsening inequality and creating more challenging conditions for economic growth. The country’s coastal and agricultural areas are vulnerable to floods and other natural disasters, which routinely destroy farms and residential areas, devastating communities that are reliant on crops and livestock for their livelihoods. As such, the members also believed that the number one human rights issue to arise from the climate crisis is the potentially worsening inequality due to high climate disaster-related risk environments of socially vulnerable groups.What do South Koreans think about climate change?
Most people in the country believe that climate change is caused by human activities, and very few think it is a natural process. The average annual temperature in South Korea in 2016 was the highest at 13.4 degrees Celsius since 1973. One factor that contributes heavily to warming temperatures is air pollution. Official statistics show that the amount of PM10 in the air in South Korea was around 30 micrograms per cubic meter, which exceeded the annual mean of 20 micrograms for PM10 as specified by the World Health Organization (WHO). The health implications of this concern civilians greatly, as reflected in how common wearing masks was long before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Older generations find the climate crisis to be more severe than their younger counterparts. Despite that, sentiments are overall proactive surrounding the climate crisis, with a majority finding this issue to be one of individual responsibility rather than that of the government.
