Climate: France's efforts still deemed "insufficient"
France has already gained + 1.7 ° C since the pre-industrial era (against + 1.1 ° C worldwide).
AFP - BERTRAND GUAY
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France's efforts to fight against global warming are still "
insufficient
" to meet its objectives, judge Tuesday June 29 the High Council for the climate.
Concerns rejected by the government, which claims to have the means to achieve its ambitions.
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"
Current efforts are insufficient to guarantee the achievement of the 2030 objectives, and all the more so in the context of the new European law on the climate
" which should revise the French objectives upwards, writes in its annual report the HCC, an independent body chosen by Emmanuel Macron.
France is at this stage committed to reducing its CO2 emissions by 40% by 2030 compared to 1990. With this in mind, the National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC) sets emission ceilings.
But the first
2015-2018 “
carbon budget
” was exceeded - amounting to a conviction of the State for failure by administrative justice.
And the government raised the ceilings for 2019-2023, de facto postponing the effort to be made.
In this context, over the past two years, emissions have indeed decreased "
faster than expected
", but the "
raising of the ceiling
" and the impact of the measures taken against Covid-19 "
are the main explanatory factors
", estimates the HCC.
📣The third annual report #Carbon Neutrality “Strengthen mitigation, initiate adaptation” of @hc_climat will be published tomorrow morning on https://t.co/mRz6a45MyE pic.twitter.com/RXUGDyYoa9
- High Climate Council (@hc_climat) June 29, 2021
In 2019, the decline in emissions accelerated slightly, to -1.9% over one year.
In 2020, the decrease linked to the pandemic was spectacular (-9%) but it "
is temporary and does not reflect lasting structural change
", insisted the president of the High Council Corinne Le Quéré, stressing the need to accelerate the pace.
"
Due to the delay accumulated by France, the current rate of annual reduction should practically double to reach at least 3.0% from 2021 and 3.3% on average over the period of the third carbon budget (2024-2028)
", warns the report which also notes a weakening of French forests and their ability to capture carbon.
"Strengthen the objectives"
While the report regrets public policies that are still too little aligned with climate objectives, it nevertheless welcomes “
progress
”, “
some of a structural nature
”, in the building, industry and energy transformation sectors.
On the other hand, emissions from transport, the leading emitting sector (31%), are stagnating, and the agricultural sector is seeing its emissions slowly decrease.
The HCC also estimates that the post-pandemic recovery plan "
is well positioned on a global scale
", with a third (28 billion euros) intended for the reduction of emissions, but calls however for the sustainability of this funding to contribute to structural changes towards a low-carbon economy.
►
See also:
“Climate and resilience” law in France: insufficient with regard to the emergency
To accelerate this transition, he suggests certain measures such as bringing the date of stopping the sale of thermal vehicles to 2030, the end of fossil fuels for heating buildings or the end of tax exemptions on fuel oil, in particular for agricultural use.
The HCC also calls on the government to apply what it advocates abroad: "
The country is positioning itself as a major player in the fight against global warming within the framework of European negotiations, but is struggling to achieve its goals. own national objectives
”.
“
We still believe that we are capable of achieving our 2030 objective
,” we replied to Matignon.
While Brussels is due to present a new climate package on July 14 to raise the European ambition of reducing emissions from 40 to 55% by 2030 - necessarily impacting France -, the government is working "
to strengthen French objectives
", we added, considering the announcement after the summer of possible "
additional measures in order to keep our ambitions
".
Focusing for the first time on adapting to the impacts of global warming, the HCC calls on States and territories to better prepare for increasing disasters. “
Two-thirds of the French population are already strongly or very strongly exposed to climate risks,
” insisted Corinne Le Quéré. And this is only the beginning, whereas France has already gained + 1.7 ° C since the pre-industrial era (against + 1.1 ° C worldwide).
“
It is extremely important to ensure that mitigation and adaptation go hand in hand,
” insisted Magali Reghezza-Zitt, member of the HCC.
“
Adaptation cannot be a pretext for inaction on emission reduction policies.
And at some point, the scale of the change will mean that we will no longer be able to adapt
”.
(With
AFP
)
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To read also:
On the front page: global warming, humanity in danger
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