2023-12-07 19:12:01
Published on Dec 7 2023 at 5:00 p.m. Updated Dec 7 2023 at 6:12 p.m.
COP or not COP? For the French, the question of the usefulness of the COP28 which is currently taking place in Dubai is unresolved: an overwhelming majority of them (65%) believe that the COPs in general are not useful for limiting climate change and adapt to the consequences already present, according to an Elabe survey carried out for the Institut Montaigne and “Les Echos”.
These major climate summits which bring together nearly 200 countries each year and which attempt to bring all parties to unanimous agreement on the best way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere leaves one skeptical. The French interviewed by Elabe have a clear preference for more local actions.
Regional COPs
81% of them believe that local authorities have a real capacity for action. Before the States (77%) or the European Union (73%). And even before businesses (80%) or citizens (79%). An observation that has not escaped the government since the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, launched the regional COPs just a month ago, which are intended to be a local variation of ecological planning presented by the head of the State last September.
“On global warming, we have gone from a period of theoretical alert launched by associations to an experience for each of us, particularly since the summer of 2022. This gives those on the ground real legitimacy to act, for example on town planning,” explains Laurence Bedeau, partner at Elabe.
Another lesson from the survey: the climate skepticism that we attribute to the French is not as widespread as one might believe. Only 11% of those questioned believe that the “government is doing too much” on global warming and environmental protection.
And paradoxically this figure is higher among executives (14%) than among workers (8%) or the category of farmers, artisans and traders (7%) who are nevertheless the socio-professional categories hit hard by certain flagship measures of ecological planning: restriction of the use of phytosanitary products for farmers, low-emission zones for craftsmen and traders or even reconversion to green industry which affects workers.
No ecological “backlash”
Conversely, 59% of French people believe that the government is not doing enough, and 30% “just enough”. The “ecological backlash” is therefore not a massive phenomenon in France, even if it is gaining ground. “An ecological culture is being built. Public opinion understands much better the causes and consequences of global warming, the link between the way it is heated in winter and the repetition of heatwaves in summer, for example. Today, everyone is experiencing climate change, and everyone is aware that we must act. It is on the ‘how’ that political and sociological fractures resurface,” analyzes Laurence Bedeau.
We still find in the results of the survey the traditional urban/rural split on the climate issue: 14% of residents of rural communities believe that the government is “doing too much” on the ecological aspect, compared to barely 5% in the Parisian conurbation.
Exit from fossil fuels
On the delicate question of adapting behavior to climate change, the French say they are more forthcoming than one might have thought: 79% consider that we are obliged to change our habits and adopt a lifestyle more sober. A figure which reaches 90% among left-wing voters, but also 67% among RN supporters.
Finally, 61% of those surveyed support a “gradual” exit from fossil fuels to make a smooth transition, and 23% even say they are ready to end the use of fossil fuels “very quickly”. A subject which is precisely at the heart of the current negotiations at COP28.
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