Seoul is to set a 2050 net zero emissions goal and end coal financing, after the Democratic Party’s landslide victory in one of the world’s first Covid-19 elections
President Moon Jae-in’s party won a landslide 180 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, up from 120 previously, in a huge show of faith in his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The election was one of the first nationwide polls to take place since the start of the pandemic, but the threat of Covid-19 did not deter voters from casting their ballot, with a record turnout.
Voters had to wear a mask and gloves and use hand sanitiser, with those failing a temperature check directed to special booths.
The Democratic Party’s decisive victory will enable President Moon to press ahead with its newly adopted Green New Deal agenda during the last two years of his mandate.
Under the plan, South Korea has become the first country in East Asia to pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
As part of the Paris Agreement, countries have agreed to submit updated climate plans to 2030 and long-term decarbonisation strategies to the UN before the end of the year.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in's landslide victory in the country's parliamentary election gives his party a clear mandate to implement its Green New Deal (Photo: Republic of Korea/Jeon Han/Flickr)
Read the full article by Chloé Farand published in Climate Home News, 16th April 2020