'Now people must listen' The children behind Korea's landmark climate victory

Hannah Kim, eight, was just starting primary school when she joined the "baby climate litigation" action to force South Korea's government to protect the rights of future generations against the dangers of the climate crisis.

- Raphael Rashid

Now, with high school still some way off, she is toasting success after playing her part in winning a four-year legal battle that has set a significant precedent for climaterelated legal action in Asia.

"I was so happy when the verdict came out, but Mum cried," Hannah says. Her mother, Sujin Namgung, describes how Hannah "was smiling so widely that all her teeth were showing" in the courtroom when the decision was announced.

But for Hannah, the legal victory is just the beginning. "The constitutional court listened to the voices of children and adolescents. The national assembly and the government must also listen to our voices," she says.

Hannah, from Seongnam city, believes the entire world has to develop a detailed plan to reduce greenhouse gases, "and we will watch and shout to see if that promise is kept", she adds firmly.