Imagine if Chancellor Olaf Scholz invited the heads of the 50 German industrial companies with the largest CO2 footprint to the Chancellery and told them: "It can't go on like this." That's exactly what French President Emmanuel Macron did on Tuesday after his return from the World Climate Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Those responsible for the 50 industrial plants that, according to Industry Minister Roland Lescure, blew “58 percent of all greenhouse gases” from French industry into the air last year, took a seat in the ballroom of the Elysée Palace on Tuesday.

"This is not a show trial," joked Industry Secretary Lescure.

They are 58 percent of the solution.

Michael Wiegel

Political correspondent based in Paris.

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Host Macron thus made visible what he imagines under his campaign slogan of an "ecological planned economy" ("planification écologique").

In the future, industrial companies should account for what they have done to improve the climate balance.

Macron thinks the timing is good.

The increased price in European emissions trading of more than 80 euros per tonne of CO2 makes investments in decarbonization processes attractive that previously did not appear profitable.

In 2018, the price was still 15 euros per tonne of CO2.

Macron also outlined the role of the government: it should accompany the conversion to climate-friendly production processes and facilitate it with targeted investment aid.

Higher Climate Council criticizes "insufficient" progress

Time is of the essence, the French President agrees with the climate activists.

Because France needs to invest significantly more in climate protection if it wants to meet the new EU target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 percent (previously 40 percent) by 2030.

An important focus should be on the decarbonization of particularly emission-intensive industries such as chemicals, steel, cement and glass.

The Supreme Climate Council, a panel of 13 experts set up by Macron in 2018, criticized “insufficient” progress in its 2022 annual report.

The judiciary is also breathing down Macron's neck.

In November 2020, the highest administrative court, the Conseil d'Etat, condemned the French state for failing to combat global warming.

In another case, the administrative court in Paris gave the government a deadline of December 31, 2022 to offset the “excessive CO2 emissions” between 2015 and 2018.

The government must explain how it intends to comply with the Paris climate agreement in view of past failures.

The administrative judges ruled that the good values ​​for 2020 are more due to the pandemic than to a sustainable climate protection policy.

The lawsuit, dubbed the "Affair of the Century," was brought by Greenpeace, Oxfam and the Nicolas Hulot Foundation.

Hulot was Macron's first environment minister, but resigned in 2018 in protest at the power of industry lobbies.

Free hand for Totalenergies?

In short, Macron's calculus is that the largest industrial emitters can make the fastest progress.

According to calculations by the Elysée Palace, the 50 industrial sites are responsible for around ten percent of the total emissions.

Surprisingly, the Elysée Palace did not invite the energy company Totalenergies (formerly Total).

The globally active company has just been accused by Greenpeace of having falsified its CO2 balance sheet.

During a discussion with young people on the fringes of the World Climate Conference, they accused President Macron of giving Totalenergies a free hand in developing fossil fuels, particularly in Africa.

Macron did not have to ask himself such questions on Tuesday in the Elysée Palace.

But not all invited entrepreneurs reacted as positively to Macron's appeal as the head of the aluminum manufacturer Aluminum France, Guillaume de Goys.

According to Goys, greenhouse gas emissions have already been greatly reduced thanks to new production processes at the Dunkirk site, to four tons of CO2 per ton of aluminum.

The European average is seven tons.

The chairman of the industry association France Industrie, Alexandre Saubot, warned of competitive disadvantages for French industry if Macron sets overly ambitious goals.