[Reporter’s Notebook] Politics Must Now Address the Climate Crisis

To Make Climate Crisis Part of Everyday Conversation
Stop Politicizing and Unite Ruling and Opposition Parties

"Whenever I plan to take a flight, I try to reduce my meat consumption."

While covering the feature series "The Path to a Just Transition," a source I met in Nantes, France, told me this. Among the French, it is common to believe that, because international flights emit a massive amount of carbon, one should offset this by eating vegetarian for a while. He explained, "In France, it doesn't feel awkward to talk about the climate crisis or environmental protection in daily life."

This summer, as we alternately experienced heat waves and heavy rains, we sensed that "something is wrong with the planet." In Korea, it is not easy to connect international air travel with vegetarianism. Although more people are carrying tumblers instead of using paper cups, many still struggle to link their daily lives to the climate crisis.

I would argue that the political sphere is to blame. This is because climate crisis-related issues have been turned into ideological battles. Many European countries craft renewable energy policies by combining solar power and nuclear energy. In Korea, before any concrete discussions can take place, debate is blocked by the frame that "solar power is progressive, nuclear power is conservative." The method of power generation flips with each change of administration.

In Europe, power companies take the lead in re-employing or retraining workers during the coal phase-out process. They establish continuous implementation plans that cannot be reversed by a change in government, considering this a purely policy matter that requires no political judgment. However, when I reported on the closure of the Dogye Mining Complex in Samcheok, Gangwon Province at the end of June, readers responded with comments like, "We kept a declining industry alive with tax money, so do we have to listen to every demand from the workers?" The issue quickly degenerated into a topic ripe for political strife.

As a result, talking about the climate crisis has become "excessively political." The responsibility is often shifted to activists, as if it is solely their issue to address. While the media universally praises Coldplay's low-carbon concerts as "hip," and regards "eco-friendly, low-carbon" as good marketing, the broader responsibility is neglected.

With bananas now growing in the heart of Seoul due to heat waves, is there still anything left that cannot be said? Last week, some farmers filed a lawsuit against a public corporation, claiming crop damage caused by climate change. They are demanding accountability for the lack of aggressive coal phase-out. This unfolded while the country was embroiled in ideological battles over nuclear versus solar energy. It is time for both ruling and opposition parties to speak with one voice on the climate crisis, so that connecting international flights and vegetarianism no longer feels out of place.