France’s High Climate Council (HCC) scrutinised the government’s “climate and resilience” bill and called for more ambition in an opinion published on Tuesday (23 February), warning that it “does not offer enough strategic scope.” EURACTIV France reports.
The bill, in its current form, according to the HCC – an independent body set up by President Emmanuel Macron to advise the government on climate policy – would not allow France to meet its targets set in the Paris Climate Agreement.
HCC President Corinne Le Quéré called out the text’s lack of “ambition” and reduced “scope of measures”. According to her, “the bill helps to move forward on steering measures that can strengthen the achievement of targets, but for the scope of greenhouse gas reduction measures themselves, there are many missed opportunities to accelerate the pace.”
France's 'climate and resilience' bill - due to be examined by the Council of Ministers on Wednesday (10 February) - has already come under fire, particularly after a report published on Monday denounced tactics used by the industry to torpedo proposals made by the Citizen's Climate Convention (CCC). EURACTIV France reports.
The French government will unveil a draft revision of the Constitution on Wednesday (20 January) to include the notion of environmental preservation. While the ultimate aim is to submit this proposal to the French public, holding a referendum seems a distant prospect. EURACTIV France reports.
The draft law aiming to include environmental preservation in Article 1 of the Constitution, a text that has been hotly debated for several months, will be presented to the Council of Ministers on Wednesday (20 January). Last December, in front of the members of the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate meeting at the Iéna Palace, President Emmanuel Macron said he was in favour of modifying Article 1.
Climate Action Network France launched on Monday (11 January) its observatory of regional climate-energy targets, a tool that makes it possible to visualise the progress of each French region in terms of energy and climate transition. EURACTIV France reports.
On its website, progress is presented using three main indicators: greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, end-user energy consumption, and renewable energy production within each region. Graphs provide an overview of how far each region has come in achieving its energy and climate objectives.
For each indicator, the results are divided into sectors. For example, the Ile-de-France region is currently 1.6% above the target it set itself in 2017 in terms of reducing GHG emissions.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with members of the Citizens’ Climate Convention on Monday (14 December). Although his announcement of a potential referendum on climate and environment made a lot of noise, the heated debate revealed continuing tensions between citizens and the executive. EURACTIV France reports.
For nearly four hours, 150 randomly picked members of the public and the president exchanged views on the future climate law, based on the proposals of the Citizens’ Climate Convention (CCC). During the debate, issues the CCC had worked on, such as travel, housing, consumption, food, production, and work, were also discussed.
At the very end of the tense discussions with the 150 citizens, tasked by the government with proposing ways in which France could cut its carbon emissions, Macron announced he would take up one of the CCC’s proposal – confirming he will be holding a referendum on the inclusion of climate protection and environmental preservation in Ar