Environmental groups urge presidential candidates to address climate crisis

One of the activists from Plan 0 speaks during a protest against the four presidential candidates who have so far neglected to make pledges concerning climate change, in front of the Sejong Center for the Performing Art at Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul, Jan. 20. One of the cardboard pickets prepared by the environmental group reads, "It's not an economic crisis, it's a climate crisis." Yonhap

By Ko Dong-hwan

A coalition of environmental activists held a protest Thursday in downtown Seoul, urging the presidential candidates to hold an open debate concerning climate change.

Plan 0, a coalition of young activists in their 20s and 30s from four different groups, huddled in front of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts at Gwanghwamun Square, one of the city's largest open public spaces. Four activists made speeches, criticizing the candidates for having neglected to make pledges on dealing with climate change.

The protest ended with a performance, parodying the four leading candidates ― Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), Ahn Cheol-soo of minor opposition People's Party and Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition Justice Party ― in a debate while not addressing climate change issues.

The activists represented young age groups that are key swing voters in this election. The DPK's Lee and the PPP's Yoon have rolled out pledges dedicated to these age groups, such as creating millions of new jobs, raising the salary for young men in compulsory military service, and mitigating regulations for virtual coin investment. But despite these pledges, the activists on Thursday condemned the candidates for not having made any clear environmental pledges to prepare the country for the impending climate crisis.

Oh Ji-hyuk, from the environmental activist group, Youth Climate Emergency Action, said that the candidates are neglecting climate issues and instead making headlines mostly about poorly thought-out pledges ― such as offering insurance coverage for hair loss treatment or shutting down the country's Ministry of Gender Equality and Family ― or for negative campaigning against rival candidates' wives.

He also criticized the DPK and the PPP for having agreed to hold a TV debate involving only their parties' two candidates during the Lunar New Year holiday later this month. He said that doing so would block people from having the chance to hear more diverse opinions from more candidates on the climate crisis and other important social issues, which would allow viewers to evaluate the candidates better.

Oh, who also represents Plan 0, said that following Thursday's protest, the activists will try to approach Yoon and urge him to join a debate about climate change with the other candidates. He added that the activists will also contact Lee, Sim and Ahn to hold them to their past promises to join such a debate.

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"We are now devising plans about how to respond to the candidates if they break their promises to participate in a debate about climate change," Oh said.

Kim Ji-yun, the co-representative of activist group Green Environment Youth Korea, said during Thursday's protest that Plan 0's activists, "who represent the MZ Generation, will choose a 'climate president' who will guarantee the survival of us all."

Environmental activists from Plan 0, wearing giant head masks of Lee Jae-myung, from left, Yoon Suk-yeol, Sim Sang-jung and Ahn Cheol-soo, parody the candidates debating while remaining silent about climate change. Yonhap

She said that this presidential election is different from past elections because, since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and climate change's impact has been intensifying worldwide, it will be held at a time when humanity is no longer at a crossroads of "advance or retreat" but at one of "survival or extinction."

"Our demand is simple," Kim said. "Make the 20th presidential election the country's first 'climate election,' in which candidates consider the climate crisis as the top item on their agenda."

Citing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, she said that the next five years (under the new administration) will be crucial for slowing down climate change's impact because, if countries across the world keep producing carbon emissions at the current pace, their "carbon budgets" ― referring to the upper limit of carbon dioxide emissions associated with staying below a certain average global temperature ― that they allotted for generating power from coal and other fossil fuels will be exhausted in seven years.

"Election candidates in the U.K., Germany and the United States have already discussed climate change as the top item on their countries' agendas," said Kim. She mentioned that the British TV network, Channel 4, had hosted a climate debate with party leaders during the general election in the U.K., and America's CNN in 2021 also held a climate crisis townhall meeting with senior officials of the Joe Biden administration to inform the public how the president was planning to reshape U.S. climate policy.

She added that young voters in Korea consider the crises of climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the economy as "threats to their survival," but that the candidates' words and behaviors show they don't sympathize with young voters' sense of urgency around tackling these issues.

"We met Lee and Ahn during their campaign events and drew from them promises to participate in a climate change debate, and Sim publicly suggested a presidential debate about climate change. Yoon, on the other hand, has been silent about it all along during his campaign," she said.

"We won't burden our new president with all the responsibilities. We will do our part. But in the process, we want to critically evaluate candidates who claim themselves to be a 'climate president.' We will continue our protest until they come out onto the debate floor."

On Jan. 5, the activist group, Beyond Coal, which advocates for transitioning Korea from coal-based energy to renewable energies, staged a street performance in Seoul's Jongno District to criticize the four candidates' pledges about carbon-intensive coal energy. They showed Sim, who has pledged to dump Korea's use of coal by 2030 and raise the country's nationally determined contribution to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions worldwide by 50 percent from 2010 levels, as being ahead of the other candidates.

Earlier this month, Seoul-based climate advocacy communications organization Climate Media Hub leader Kim Tae-jong suggested in a column how undecided voters can make their choice of selecting among presidential candidates easier: "Never vote for a candidate with a poor climate vision."

"The country is indeed in its 'golden hour,' during which there is the highest likelihood that a new president will prevent disastrous climate consequences in the future during their five-year term," Kim wrote. "Climate policy implementation in the next decade will make a big difference. Rapidly ditching coal should be the first step."