The Minister of Ecological Transition announced Thursday on Twitter that the government was going to introduce a weight penalty for the heaviest vehicles, and therefore the most polluting.
This is one of the measures called for by the Citizen's Climate Convention (CCC).
The government will introduce a "by weight" on the heaviest vehicles, demanded by the Citizen's Climate Convention (CCC), to fight against the increase in the fleet and its environmental impact, announced Thursday Barbara Pompili.
"The weight penalty that we are introducing is a strong and necessary signal to better take into account the ecological footprint of the heaviest vehicles", tweeted the Minister of Ecological Transition.
The increase in the vehicle fleet is more materials and energy consumed, more pollution, - available public space.
The weight penalty that we are introducing is a strong and necessary signal to better take into account the ecological footprint of the heaviest vehicles
- Barbara Pompili (@barbarapompili) October 15, 2020
10 euros per kilo over 1,800 kg
"The heavier vehicle fleet means more materials and energy consumed, more pollution, less available public space," she said.
Taxation, which should be the subject of an amendment to the 2021 finance bill, will be 10 euros per kilo over 1,800 kg, the ministry told AFP.
The measure was among the proposals of the Citizen's Climate Convention, but with a lower threshold of 1,400 kg.
"Despite everything, it is going in the right direction," commented Grégoire Fraty, co-president of the "150" association which brings together 130 of the 150 citizens of the CCC.
"We finally have the impression of winning an arbitration", he told AFP, while "the 150" sent a letter Monday to Emmanuel Macron to deplore the lack of "clear support" from the government for their proposals, of which the president has undertaken to take 146 out of 149. "It's good that we finally ask ourselves the question: should we always produce bigger and heavier," added Grégoire Fraty .
"Adjustments" for large families
There will be "adjustments" for large families, as requested by the CCC, as well as an "exemption" for electric vehicles, said Barbara Pompili.
The WWF welcomed this "historic government arbitration which recognizes the need to take into account the weight of cars to slow down the meteoric growth of SUVs in France for ten years".
The NGO, which published a report last week estimating "incompatible" the growth of the SUV market with the respect of French commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, has nevertheless regretted that this only concerns one The heaviest SUV "niche", the average vehicle weight in France being 1,240 kg.