From the podium, Corinne is not afraid to call out to the Minister of Ecology: “Madam Minister, with the whole of the government, be ambitious with us! "It sums up the hope and the anxiety of the 150 citizens who, after nine months of work, delivered their" beautiful baby "to Elisabeth Borne this Sunday evening. Their project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% includes sometimes very ambitious measures. While the president has undertaken to receive them on Monday 29 June, the question now remains of the future of this non-binding text.
A referendum, but at least
The Citizen Climate Convention, that's his name, called for the organization of a referendum to include the fight against global warming in the Constitution and create an “ecocide”, namely punishing serious damage to the environment . It would be a great first. Initially, the 150 had envisaged a multiple question referendum on several of their proposals. But they restricted it so as "not to oppose citizens and representative democracy" explains Laurence Tubiana, who co-chaired this assembly. The referendum option "could be a false good idea in the current political context", judges the ex-Minister of the Environment, the deputy (ex-PS) Delphine Batho. Understand: to say no to Macron, the French could seem to say no to ecology.
Punches
149 of the 150 ideas formulated by the different groups have been adopted by the whole of the Convention. Only "the week at 28h" was postponed on Saturday. "I never thought I would wear such extreme measures, but they will undoubtedly be insufficient," says Zaïa, one of the 150. Certain proposals, such as reducing the speed to 110 km / h on the highway, have already caused the motorists angry. The Convention also requests the banishment of the most polluting vehicles in the city center or the ban from 2025 of those emitting more than 110 g of CO2 per kilometer. Citizens also want to tackle advertising for SUVs. Another measure that promises heated debates if adopted: taxing corporate dividends to finance the energy transition.
And after ?
"It is now up to political leaders to do their share of the work," said ex-LREM MP Matthieu Orphelin. "EELV calls on the government to seize it globally insofar as they form an inseparable whole", indicated the ecological party this Sunday by press release. In reality, the draft convention will now be cut into small pieces: discussed in parliament, adopted as regulations, referred to European level. One of the worst anxieties of climate activists is that these proposals are only included in an orientation law, which sets objectives without constraint. Greenpeace warned that a "purely symbolic response to the work of the Convention would be a democratic disaster". To avoid this pitfall, the “150” have formed an association to monitor the future of their proposals.
