The “
Case of the Century
”
associations
announced Thursday, February 22, that they had filed an appeal before the Council of State, two months after having their request for a fine of 1.1 billion euros to the against the State which they accuse of climate inaction.
“The court refuses to mobilize the tools at its disposal to force the State to act: (...) Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire à tous and Oxfam France are concerned about this decision which risks creating harmful jurisprudence for the future of climate justice”
and
“which would give a green light to an undergone and unplanned transition”
, indicate the three associations in a press release to explain this appeal.
On December 22, the Paris administrative court refused to impose a financial penalty of 1.1 billion euros demanded by these NGOs against the French state, which they accused of not acting sufficiently to fight against global warming.
In its judgment, the court considered that the
“reparation of the ecological damage was late but (was) now complete”
, ruling that
“the State, in accordance with the injunction made to it, had adopted or implemented measures likely to repair the damage in question
.
The public rapporteur declared that the latest data concerning national CO2 emissions, namely a drop of 4.3% for the year 2023 and 2.7% in 2022,
“allowed us to consider that the damage had entirely been repaired
.
Circular factors
Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire à tous and Oxfam France had already condemned the State twice in 2021. First in February when the Paris administrative court found the State responsible for breaches of its commitments and
“ecological harm”
ensuing.
Then in October 2021, justice ordered that
“December 31, 2022, at the latest”
be compensated for the 15 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (MtCO2e) emitted in excess compared to France's objectives in 2015-2018.
Judging that these judgments had not been implemented, the NGOs began a new procedure in June 2023, this time to claim a financial penalty.
On Thursday, the three associations deplored the fact that the justice system
“is not asking for any new structuring measures and refuses to impose penalties”
while continuing to recognize that the State has nevertheless failed in its obligations, they indicate.
They consider that since the 2021 decisions
“the climate delay taken by France has (...) increased”
, in particular due to the collapse of carbon sinks such as forests which, due to their degradation, store less CO2, and that the
“ecological damage has increased”
.
“The damages remaining to be repaired (are) much greater than those that the court accepts
,” insist the members of the Case of the Century, denouncing the fact that it
“integrates into its balance sheet (...) factors external to state action”
, such as the Covid crisis or the war in Ukraine.
According to them, these economic factors represent 74% of the emissions reductions recorded by France.
“Climatic laziness”
Furthermore, the calculation of France's climatic delay carried out by the court obscures the use and change of allocation of land and forestry (LULUCF).
“Yet from 2019 to 2022, between 83 and 92 megatonnes of CO2 equivalent were emitted in excess, compared to what carbon sinks were able to regulate, in contradiction with the National Low-Carbon Strategy,” the associations underline
.
“The government can no longer afford so much laziness when it comes to climate policy: it must respect France’s objectives, without last-minute exceptions, without sleight of hand to hope to display good facade behavior,” declares
Jean -François Julliard, general director of Greenpeace France.
“By refusing to act seriously without delay, the government condemns France to act at the last minute, when it will already be far too late
,” adds Jérémie Suissa, general delegate of Notre Affaire à Tous.
In May, France committed to reducing its emissions by 50% in 2030 compared to 1990, in accordance with European commitments, which implies an acceleration of efforts.