Japanese youth sue power companies over climate change

Tokyo:  A group of 16 young Japanese citizens is suing utility companies over their carbon emissions, marking the latest in a growing number of climate-related lawsuits worldwide, where activists turn to the courts to push for climate action.

The plaintiffs, all in their teens and 20s, claim this is the first climate case brought by young people in Japan, a country critics argue has the dirtiest energy mix among G7 nations.

Filed in August, the lawsuit targets 10 operators of fossil fuel-burning power plants, whose emissions, according to the plaintiffs' lawyers, conflict with Japan's climate commitments. The first hearing is scheduled for October 24.

The lawsuit seeks to protect young people from the "dangerous and harmful impacts of climate change”, which the plaintiffs argue violates their human rights and those of future generations, according to a statement from their legal team.

The lawyers argue that the defendants' self-imposed 2030 emission reduction goals are "grossly inadequate" and depend on "technologically unproven methods”, such as burning coal mixed with ammonia or storing carbon dioxide underground.

Two of the companies named in the suit, JERA and Electric Power Development, declined to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings.

Japan’s government is expected to announce updated emission reduction targets for the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2035 within this fiscal year.

Currently, about two-thirds of Japan’s electricity comes from fossil fuels. However, the country aims for carbon neutrality by 2050 and is striving to cut emissions by 46 percent by 2030, compared to 2013 levels.

By 2030, Japan plans to nearly double the share of renewable energy to 36-38 percent, reduce fossil fuel dependence to 41 percent, and, 14 years after the Fukushima disaster, increase nuclear energy to 20-22 percent.

Landmark victory for young activists in South Korea
In August, South Korea's Constitutional Court ruled that many of the country’s climate goals were unconstitutional, granting a landmark victory to young environmental activists.

The case, the first of its kind in Asia, was brought by children and teenagers, with one embryo named as a lead plaintiff. They argued that South Korea's insufficient climate commitments violated their human rights.

European court ruling on Switzerland's climate commitment
Similar cases have succeeded globally, including in April when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland was not doing enough to combat climate change, following a case brought by a group of 2,500 women with an average age of 73.

Agencies