French Prime Minister François Fillon killed the picnic tax yesterday. Pity. Apparently Fillon and President Nicholas Sarkozy were concerned that Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo was getting carried away, announcing too many “green taxes” and provoking undue anxiety among the parliamentary majority. RTL reports that the PM met Borloo and his deputy, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet yesterday to bring them into line.
via RTL
Posted in buying green, policy, waste disposal
As part of the government’s drive to use fiscal measures to encourage more sustainable behaviours, Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo announced this week that plastic plates and cutlery would, starting next year, face a “picnic tax” of 90 centimes to the euro for every kilogram. Similar “green” taxes on wasteful fridges, washing machines, televisions and batteries – accompanied by tax breaks on their more eco-friendly equivalents – are also under consideration. Each person in France produces on average 360 kilograms of waste per year, and France has more incinerators per person than any other country in Europe.
via Le Figaro
Posted in buying green, policy, recycling, waste disposal
via Fußgänger
Home owners in France take note. The French government is planning to offer a zero-interest loan of up to 30,000 euros for eco-renovation. If approved, this plan will take effect as part of the 2009 budget. Dubbed “éco-PTZ” (pret a taux zero), the loan is open to anyone, with no revenue conditions attached, and is limited to a maximum of 30,000 euros over five years. In order to qualify, borrowers must prove they intend to undertake a comprehensive overhaul and not just a one-off item like installing a solar panel or some hemp in the rafters. The plan, initiated by Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo, has met resistance from the Finance Ministry as it is expected to cost the government one billion euros. But Borloo argues that it will kick-start the industry in an otherwise sluggish economy.
Via Les Echos
Posted in climate change, design and architecture, Grenelle, policy
2008 did not get off to a good start for seed biodiversity in France. In February, Kokopelli was fined in two court cases for the crime of selling traditional and ancient seed varieties which were not listed on an “official”, government-approved list. Kokopelli is a non-profit French group set up in 1999 to safeguard endangered seed strains, and has built up one of the largest European seed collections (2500 reproducible varieties) of vegetable, flower and cereal seeds reproducible and accessible both to amateurs and professionals. Baumaux, a large seed seller, took the association to court for unfair competition.
All the seeds sold by Kokopelli are open pollinated which means you can save your own seeds from their seeds, which is the basic idea behind preservation and conservation of biodiversity.
Things might be looking up, however, as the European Commission approved a proposal last month allowing for derogations from the “official” EU seed directory for seed varieties threatened by extinction. It has proposed that these varieties could be placed on the catalogues without official examination, once they meet some minimum standards.
France has perhaps the strictest and most constraining seed legislation in the world. Since 1949, farmers are only allowed to buy seeds that are officially registered on the national catalogue, many of which are sterile. France is home to the biggest commercial seed industry in Europe.
Posted in agriculture, biodiversity, policy
France Nature Environnement (FNE), a federation of environmental NGOs, delivers a mixed score card on Sarkozy’s efforts on the environment during his first year in office. It is worth recalling that Sarkozy was rated the least environment-friendly of all the candidates in the presidential election campaign, well behind his Socialist rival Segolene Royale. But he surprised everyone by delivering the Grenelle de l’Environnement, a bold and innovative political exercise which for the first time brought together all stakeholders to collectively craft the country’s policies on the environment for the next decade.
Sebastien Genest, president of FNE: “By acknowledging the role of associations, initiating the Grenelle de l’environnement, taking strong commitments, Nicolas Sarkozy took a risk: creating immense expectations! Failure would be absolutely dreadful. For now, the Grenelle is not dead and its pursuit is the guarantee that our country is on the right track. However, we must be cautious. All the ecology-sceptics are standing on the brakes and we must not help them.”
On the plus side:
- designating the Environment Minister as the number two in the government
- the Grenelle
- acknowledgement, at the highest level and for the first time in the history of the 5th Republic, of the existence and the role of NGOs in protecting the environment
- the shelving of a project for a gold mine in Guyana
- the ban on GM corn MON 810
- Environment Minister Jean-Louis Borloo’s promise to not touch the law on France’s coastlines
- the creation of a scientific foundation for biodiversity
On the minus side:
- the relentless defence of commercial interests of the nuclear industry
- an economic policy grounded in quantitative growth
- a carbon tax which is still hypothetical
- a vote against the European soil protection law
- authorization of the creation of a new airport near Nantes
- authorization of “Cruiser” pesticide
- calling for a rethink of the European Union fishing quotas
- authorization of the construction of a highway around Strasbourg, putting at risk the Grand Hamster d’Alsace
- failure to act quickly on the catastrophe of PCB pollution in the Rhone river
- failure to make the ‘ecopastille’ tax (a bonus/malus system with 130 g CO2 as a breakeven point) on new cars a yearly tax
via Les 4 Elements
A new study in this month’s La Recherche alerts policy makers to the dangers posed by the current method of calculating greenhouse gas emissions which significantly downplays the role of methane in climate change scenarios.
The study, conducted by three climate and energy specialists, points out that reducing the bulk of methane emissions in France generated by rotting garbage dumps would have exactly the same impact on global warming as a 25-year campaign to insulate old buildings at the rate of 400,000 buildings a year.
Methane, or CH4, is produced by humid zones, coal extraction, the petrol and natural gas industry, cows and rotting organic matter. It is just one of the greenhouse gases that contribute to the greenhouse warming effect. Climate change modeling relies on a basic simplification whereby the effects of the other gases are calculated in terms of their carbon equivalent.
This equivalent measure is shorthand for the effect of the entire mix of gases. To attain the carbon emissions targets set by the IPCC, it is not enough to just cut our emissions of carbon dioxide but requires a concerted effort on the other gases as well.
This is a crucial distinction when it comes to translating the scientific recommendations into policy. For example, the final document from last year’s Grenelle on the Environment failed to mention methane in the policy conclusions on climate change.
The IPCC defines Global Warming Potential (GWP) as being a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. It is a relative scale which compares the gas in question to the same mass of carbon dioxide.
The GWP of methane can vary widely depending on the time frame in question. Methane only stays in the atmosphere for 12 years, which is short compared to carbon dioxide. As the life span of methane in the atmosphere is much shorter than that of CO2, its impact on climate change is greater over a shorter time period.
The European Union is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent against the level of emissions in 1990. Over this period, the GWP of methane increases from the standard factor of 21 to 49. In five years, a ton of methane released into the atmosphere contributes as much as 101 tons of CO2 would to the greenhouse effect.
The study points out that cutting use of fossil fuels is not the only way to fight climate change because levels of methane in the atmosphere could increase sharply in the event of a big meltdown in the Arctic regions.
via La Recherche and Le Figaro
Posted in climate change, Grenelle, policy, waste disposal
The Attali plan to boost economic growth in France is out, and President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that he plans to implement most of it. The plan consists of 316 measures designed to administer an electric shock to the French economy, currently on track to deliver just under 2 percent growth in GDP this year. Sarkozy, who named Jacques Attali (former advisor to socialist president Francois Mitterrand) to head the commission, said this week that he supported most of the conclusions and would convene a ministerial commission next month to decide which measures would be implemented first. The only two points he rejected outright were Attali’s opposition to the precautionary principle (which is enshrined in the French constitution) and his recommendation to do away with the administrative grid of France which breaks the country up into departments.
Some of the measures included liberalising the retail sector to break down barriers to entry and remove price protection, opening up protected profession such as taxi drivers, focusing research and development tax credits on sectors such as technology, health and nanotechnology and the construction of eco-towns between now and 2012. One controversial recommendation was to boost immigration to target sectors which are unable to meet demand, such as the construction sector.
Opposition to the plan comes from many quarters, notably from environmental NGOs, who have protested that the plan is at odds with the final consensus which emerged from last year’s Grenelle on the environment. Les Echos ran an opinion piece this week by its oldest editorialist, Favilla, questioning the logic of a government which appears to be saying that it can pursue a growth-at-any-cost strategy alongside a strategy to marry economic growth with sustainability and the safeguarding of biodiversity. He points to the fact that Sarkozy announced earlier this month that he had sought advice from Nobel economists Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz on a revamp of the way France calculates its GDP to factor in quality of life elements and asks: “How should we reconcile the productivist orientation which is at the heart of the Attali report with the exactly opposed logic of the Grenelle on the environment and that which underlies the order issued to Nobel prizes Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz to rethink the very concept of Gross Domestic Product?” Ironically, the issue of “green” economic indicators was dealt with in one of the working groups at the Grenelle, but somehow never made it into the final conclusions.
“When one has to choose between Attali and Sen,” writes Favilla, “we are not longer in the realm of the sectorial. These are two systemic strategies which are hanging in the balance.”
Posted in Grenelle, policy, quality of life
Despite serious concerns about purchasing power, despite the Grenelle and the Bali conference, signs abound that it is still business as usual for the festive season. Societal pressure to force-feed one’s entourage with useless, over-packaged gift items has not abated a whit and the only good green news seems to be that the traditional Christmas decorations on the Champs-Elysees have been engineered with eco-friendly light bulbs which will cut the electricity bill for the display by 70 per cent, according to the Paris town hall authorities.
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, Junior Minister for the Environment, wants local authorities all over France to take a serious look at their Christmas footprint. She has asked the French Enivironment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) to carry out a study of the environmental impact of Christmas which will result in guidelines on reducing the festive footprint at the local level. The study will focus on four main themes – electricity consumption linked to Christmas decorations and lighting, public transportation needs for city centres, the promotion of eco-friendly purchases as gifts and the management of waste and packaging.
“More than any other holiday, Christmas is an occasion to reflect on the social and environmental under-side of our consumption and in this domain local authorities should also lead the way,” Kosciusko-Morizet said in a statement.
Posted in buying green, policy, waste disposal
What’s the price tag for the ambitious plan announced at the Grenelle to improve energy efficiency and insulation in all of the existing homes and office buildings in France? Three thousand euros per household per year, according to Remy Prud’homme, professor at the University of Paris Xll. “The building lobby and construction industries…the media, the Greens and the bobos are all applauding,” he wrote in an opinion piece in Marianne magazine this week. But he warns that the cost might be too heavy to bear for a country where consumption is drying up and economic growth has slowed to a crawl. According to his calculations, French consumers will get a return on their investment of 130 to 140 euros of energy savings per year (a bit more if the price of oil breaks through $200/barrel) plus a reduction of carbon emissions by 37 million tons a year. Certainly worthwhile for the well-heeled, but, he asks, is the investment defensible for the working classes and those living close to the poverty line?
This strikes at the heart of a big contradiction that Sarkozy is going to have to arbitrate soon: how to reconcile the central plank of his campaign platform – a pledge to raise purchasing power and deliver more economic growth – with the commitments undertaken at the Grenelle. In December, the Attali Commission to promote growth in France (its ultimate aim is to deliver 5 percent growth) will deliver its final conclusions. Among the proposals aired in the media in recent weeks are some which are at loggerheads with the Grenelle, such as the suggestion to abolish the precautionary principle, which Attali considers an obstacle to innovation. The precautionary principle means that when (on the basis of available evidence) an activity may harm human health or the environment, a cautious approach should be taken in advance – even if the full extent of harm has not yet been fully established scientifically. It is the guiding principle (so far) of the French government’s policy line on GM crops.
The working groups at the Grenelle framed the terms of reference for economic growth as follows: “The economic challenge of environmental policy is not to promote a de-industrialized economy, but an economy which is more sober in carbon, in energy and non-renewable natural resources.” Attali, however, maintains that it is not economic growth that engenders pollution, but rather production. Last month, he told France Inter radio: “The best way to not pollute is to go back to the stone age.” As always, Sarkozy will have the last word.
Posted in Grenelle, media, policy, quality of life
Some critics of the Grenelle have pointed out that many of the measures contained in Sarkozy’s final announcement were little more than a promise to honor European Union directives which are either already or soon-to-be mandatory for France and other European nations. So who really drives policy on the environment? And how might the new Lisbon Treaty on a European constitution affect the way Europe deals with environmental issues?
In a recent interview with Les Echos, European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot, noted: “The measures announced (at the Grenelle) correspond overwhelmingly to, if not completely, the goals of community policy. Nicolas Sarkozy acknowledged himself that Europe has always been ahead on the environment. But I am delighted that France today wishes to be at the head of the pack. It’s an excellent sign for the second semester of 2008, when France takes over the presidency of the European Union.” He singles out a number of measures which reproduce European Union directives – the carbon tax, the emphasis on shifting away from highway transport to train transport, stricter carbon emissions norms for cars and so on. “The important thing is, above all, that this “Environmental New Deal” can only succeed if France carries it with Europe.”
What about the controversial Lisbon Treaty, agreed last month and due to be adopted in December? It creates two big new posts – a High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and a new standing president of the European Council. In theory this should ultimately allow Europe to speak with one voice on issues such as energy, climate change and migration, giving it significantly more heft at the international level. A survey of world public opinion by the European Council on Foreign Relations, a new think-tank, depicts a world which is favorable to increasing influence from the European Union and increasingly hostile to military power. Based on interviews of 57,000 people from 52 countries, more than a third of respondents (35 percent) said that an increase in the Union’s power was key to the development of a better world.
So did Sarkozy hood-wink the French public into believing that he was signing onto a Green Revolution when France was already on notice from the European Union to clean up its act on the environment? Or, as Barrot suggests obliquely, was Sarkozy’s role more that of a preacher to a recalcitrant private sector? “I appreciated the fact that Nicolas Sarkozy has explained that the fight for the environment will not be won without new investments. Sometimes I hear people say that all you need to do is tax and regulate.”
via Les Echos
