How South Korea’s 2035 NDC can drive private sector action and investment

The document highlights the economic and legal imperatives for South Korea to strengthen its 2035 NDC, noting strong business support for a transition to renewables and a landmark Constitutional Court ruling requiring more robust climate targets to protect citizens' rights.

• There is significant support among South Korean business leaders for a rapid energy transition, with 76% wanting the government to move from fossil fuels to a renewables-based electricity system within ten years.
• A landmark August 2024 ruling by South Korea's Constitutional Court—the first of its kind in Asia—determined that the 2030 NDC was insufficient to protect citizens' constitutional rights, making the strengthening of the 2035 NDC a legal obligation.
• An ambitious 2035 NDC is presented as a means to secure South Korea's competitiveness in energy-intensive sectors, including shipbuilding, batteries, petrochemicals, and steel, by accelerating electrification and the transition to renewable energy.

APA

Diffley, M. (2025). How South Korea’s 2035 NDC can drive private sector action and investment. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/how-south-koreas-2035-ndc-can-drive-private-sector-action-and-investment/

Chicago

Diffley, Maeve. How South Korea’s 2035 NDC can drive private sector action and investment. We Mean Business Coalition, 2025. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/how-south-koreas-2035-ndc-can-drive-private-sector-action-and-investment/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Diffley |first1=Maeve |title=How South Korea’s 2035 NDC can drive private sector action and investment |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=6 November 2025 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/how-south-koreas-2035-ndc-can-drive-private-sector-action-and-investment/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{diffley2025how, author = {Diffley, Maeve}, title = {{How South Korea’s 2035 NDC can drive private sector action and investment}}, institution = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/blog/how-south-koreas-2035-ndc-can-drive-private-sector-action-and-investment/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }