Michel Barnier’s promise to fight against the “ecological debt” does not convince environmental NGOs

2024-10-02 07:40:22

After the Prime Minister’s general policy statement, the associations await concrete actions and fear possible future budget cuts.

THE “ecological debt” it’s a “Sword of Damocles” Who “It will weigh much more heavily on our children and grandchildren tomorrow”Prime Minister Michel Barnier warned in his general policy statement. While the summer of 2024 was the hottest ever measured on the planet, and a new report announces that the rate of ocean warming has almost doubled compared to 2005, the head of government assured on Tuesday that it is necessary “do more”. Development of nuclear energy and renewable energy, ecological transition ” motor “ industrial policy, “solution ecology”: che, who was Minister of the Environment, outlined the broad lines of his roadmap… without however reassuring the environmental NGOs. “If Michel Barnier recognized that we must do more to fight climate change, he remained silent on the financial means to achieve this goal”reacted Anne Bringault, program director of the Climate Action Network (RAC, which brings together numerous NGOs such as WWF and Oxfam). “Mentioning the ecological debt is not enough, we must put in place an ambitious political program that responds to the challenge. Jean-François Julliard, director general of Greenpeace France, believes this for his part, judging the signals sent by the new government “not sufficient and even contradictory”.

The associations united under the RAC flag said the day before in a press conference “combative”convinced that we will have to work together to see progress on ecological issues, given the country’s budgetary situation and in a context of dialogue that they consider “degraded”. At the center of the concerns, the letters on the ceilings that set the credits assigned to each ministry under the 2025 budget project, in particular provide for reducing the Green Fund (for the transition in local authorities) to 1 billion euros against 2, 5 billion in 2024, reduce the MaPrimeRenov’ system by 1.3 billion and reduce that for social assistance for the purchase of electric vehicles by 500 million. “It is all the more worrying because these are solutions that work” and have a direct impact on the daily lives of the French, deplores Jean Burkard, director of WWF France.

Last year the Pisani-Ferry & Mahfouz report estimated the additional annual investments (public and private) necessary for the ecological transition at over 60 billion euros. « New contributions announced this Tuesday large companies and the richest families must be destined for the ecological and just transition”hopes Anne Bringault.

Ministry “dismembered”.

NGOs also share “impatience” of the High Climate Council, which judged last week “urgent » the adoption of laws and planning documents in the field of energy and climate, in order to provide the indispensable visibility for public action. Among these texts that have been in the works for months, the multiannual energy programming (PPE), the new national low carbon strategy (SNBC, roadmap to reduce France’s emissions by sector) or even the third, the national adaptation plan to climate change (PNACC-3). “Design work will resume immediately” based on the work already done, the Prime Minister assured on Tuesday.

Read alsoIPCC report: the new face of a France that would warm by 4°C

While waiting for more details, the NGOs underline that they have not yet managed to obtain a meeting with the Prime Minister, nor with the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher. They also punish the “dismemberment” of his ministry which certainly recovers Energy, but “it loses transport and housing, two main levers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions”remembers Anne Bringault. Also deprived of the Sea and Forests, the minister’s portfolio is also lightened by the cohesion of the Territories (for which Catherine Vautrin is now responsible), which according to the associations will not help the implementation at local level of some very thorny issues, such as the regulation on net zero artificialisation (ZAN, advocated by Michel Barnier “develop in a pragmatic and differentiated way” deposit “satisfy the essential needs of industry and housing”).

The fate of the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning further complicates the situation, the associations finally believe: the SGPE, created in 2022 and directed by Antoine Pellion, was supposed to coordinate this planning between all ministries. Previously attached directly to the Prime Minister’s office, he is now disconnected from it. “The head of the SGPE is no longer at the discussion table and this is a problem”estimates Cécile Duflot, director general of Oxfam. “With this fragmentation of responsibilities we will have to rely exclusively on the goodwill of each minister” promote environmental issues, adds Anne Bringault. With, above their heads, “the real sword of Damocles, that of our colossal financial debt”in the words of the Prime Minister.