Research Report
A study to establish the legal concept of a just transition for the implementation of carbon neutrality in Korea
Ⅰ. Purpose and method of research
▶ Necessity and purpose of research
○ The need for research
- Recognize the need for a fair transition as a response task and change following carbon-neutral implementation
- Domestic and foreign requests for the realization of process conversion
- Necessity of realization through legalization of fair conversion
○ Purpose of the study
- Search for the following questions to legally establish fair conversion
- First, what is the nature of the fair conversion regulation as a legal criterion?
- Second, what are the conceptual requirements for ‘just·fair’ conversion as a legal term?
- Third, what are the legal targets and scope of fair conversion, and what are the application requirements?
▶ Characteristics and methods of research
○ Differences from previous studies
- Excluding discussion of existing environmental discourse and reconfirmation of necessity
- Restricting tasks to legally establish process transformation as a central target
- Seek to establish legal conceptual requirements for fair conversion
○ Method of research
- Comparative analysis of international process conversion regulations
- Analysis of regulations related to process conversion within the domestic legal system
○ Workshop progress
- 1st : major legal and policy progress on process conversion in EU/ Germany/Korea
- 2nd : Analysis of EU/German process conversion regulations
- 3rd : Analysis of EU/Germany related laws and policies related to process conversion Backgrounds and Purposes
Ⅱ. Major Content
▶ Analysis and suggestion of conceptual requirements for process conversion
○ Conversion to the scope of application of the law
- Under the current law, the definition of conversion uses terms such as change, reduction, and increase
- The degree of conversion is limited as a legal concept distinguished by terms such as ‘change’ of a region, ‘reduction of size’, ‘end’ of operation, and ‘addition of (new)’
- Determine the ‘degree’ of the change within the ‘range’ that meets the ‘normative purpose’ of the object of conversion
- As a legal term, the actual meaning of conversion is the subject and scope of applying the rule to the subject
○ The concept of ‘transition’ in the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality
- The ‘scope’ of the transition is the transition process to a carbon-neutral society
- ‘Transition’ as a legal subject and scope refers to structural and institutional changes in the industrial, economic, and social sectors according to the energy sector goal of carbon neutrality
- ‘Scope/degree of conversion’ is a ‘normative characteristic’ of ‘quantitative and temporal deadlines’ of zero net greenhouse gas emissions and targeted comparative reductions, so it is possible to provide special interpretation and legal requirements
○ Standards for applying the law: regional requirements
- The Carbon Neutral Act applies to areas that may be directly or indirectly damaged in the process of transition to a carbon neutral society.
- “Region” means “a region where inequality or inequity in social, economic, employment, and environmental fields is expected to occur”
- The method of defining the “target area” will be able to define formal requirements such as distance from a specific branch, administrative district, and business office, and define practical requirements such as benefits and opportunities for growth and polarization of jobs
○ Standards for applying the law: Industrial requirements
- The Carbon Neutral Act applies to industries that may be directly or indirectly damaged in the process of transition to a carbon neutral society
- The form of the current law that has defined ‘industry’ as ‘object of policy’ mainly focuses on the industry
- In addition to the industry, it is also necessary to consider the characteristics of individual workplaces for conversion targets
○ Standards for Law Application: Human Requirements
- The definitions of the Carbon Neutrality Act are defined as workers, farmers, small business owners, etc
- Since there is a difference from the social use of the term ‘worker’, in order to interpret it in a different or broad scope from that of a laborer under the Labor Standards Act, it is necessary to have a legal conceptual requirement for workers and a criterion for judgment.
- The current law limits the size of the business as a criterion for judging ‘small and medium business owners’, and it is necessary to find ways to share the burden and support large-scale greenhouse gas-generating companies