The High Council for Climate (HCC) calls on the Prime Minister on the
“drift of the timetable”
in the adoption of several texts to combat climate change, fearing a
“risk of a decline in the ambition”
of France, in a letter addressed by its president to Gabriel Attal.
Welcoming the provisional figures from Citepa showing a 4.8% decline in the country's greenhouse gas emissions for 2023, the HCC emphasizes that they
"must not obscure the major efforts"
that remain
" to accomplish"
. Such a decline
“if it were confirmed (...) must be sustained each year by 2030 and beyond and be reflected within all major emitting sectors”
, underlines Corinne Le Quéré in this letter dated April 2 and made public on Thursday.
“Reaffirm France’s climate policy firmly and without delay”
“To date, the High Council for the Climate notes that after several consultations and debates, neither the energy and climate programming law, nor the French energy and climate strategy, nor the 3rd National Low Carbon Strategy, nor the 3rd National Plan adaptation to climate change, nor the 3rd Multi-annual Energy Program have been formally adopted, despite legislative obligations
,” explains the president. However,
“these documents are essential in order to guide France's long-term climate action”
while
“the current level of urgency, both in terms of mitigation and adaptation, (...) invites us to reaffirm firmly and without delay the climate policy
of the country.
“The High Council for the Climate can only be concerned about the risk of a decline in the ambition of climate policy induced by the timetable slippage of its most structuring instruments
,” indicates the letter.
The High Council for the Climate (HCC) is an independent body established by Emmanuel Macron at the end of 2018 and responsible for evaluating France's climate policies. Reporting to the Prime Minister, it is made up of a dozen experts including climatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte and engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici.
Change scale
The organization points out that accelerating the reduction in emissions is
“all the more necessary”
as the current state of health of our forests, following the impacts of climate change, strongly limits their contribution to carbon storage. Citepa figures are only raw emissions and do not take into account the impact of carbon sinks.
France aims to reduce its emissions by 50% (-55% net) by 2030 to comply with European commitments and achieve carbon neutrality.
“These challenges can only be met in France if the climate adaptation policy changes scale by becoming anticipatory, preventive and transformative, and if the strategic framework for mitigation, which is being constructed, is implemented operationally. and systematic”
, believes the president of the HCC. She recalls that
“deferring implementation and reducing the ambition of climate action would mean giving up on ensuring the protection of the population”
.