There are numbers that the government can brag about. Environmentally friendly spending increased by 4.5 billion euros in the 2023 budget, currently under discussion in the National Assembly. They increase to 33.9 billion, compared to the 29.5 billion euros identified in 2022 (27.3 billion in 2020). If we include the recovery plan, they reach 37.5 billion euros.
This change is due, in particular, to the continuation of the MaPrimeRenov’ system (2.3 billion euros), aid for the acquisition of clean vehicles (1.1 billion), expenditure on scientific and technological research in the field of the environment and energy (2.1 billion) or even part of official development assistance (2.1 billion).
And there are the figures on which communication is more perilous. “Brown” expenditure, which is unfavorable to the environment and the climate, is “generally stabilized”specifies the press release from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which presented, Tuesday, October 11, this « budget vert ». They amount to 19.6 billion euros, an increase of 9.3 billion compared to 2021.
According to Bercy, the culprit is “the implementation of exceptional consumer protection measures”, or 8.9 billion euros. If we therefore exclude this expense, which is temporary and intended to offset and limit the sharp rise in gas and electricity prices, “the amount of expenditure unfavorable to the environment stands at 10.7 billion euros in 2023, stable compared to 2022”, says the ministry. According to Bercy, 7.1 billion would be linked to tax loopholes.
” Lack of transparency “
This accounting bristles the budget specialists on the side of the associations. In fact, the implementation of the tariff shield on electricity and gas, intended to support the French in the face of soaring energy prices, costs some 45 billion euros (33.8 billion for electricity and 11.1 billion for gas).
“It is this global sum that must be counted as unfavorable expenses. But the government is engaged in an assembly to reduce the brown part of the budget. By manipulating the figures, and by not taking into account the entire tariff shield, it indulges in a lack of transparency which undermines the honesty and efficiency of this green budget”denounces Emeline Notari, specialist in tax matters at the Climate Action Network (RAC).
By integrating the entire gross cost of the tariff shield, the 45 billion euros, into the brown expenditure of the budget, the total expenditure unfavorable to the environment would greatly exceed the 19.6 billion displayed. But the government certifies that“Overall, expenditure unfavorable to the environment remains much lower than favorable expenditure”.
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