National and regional story (France) - Country Fact File

France has recently developed a number of major political and technical innovations: in the field of governance, through the Grenelle Environment Forum; in the energy and climate spheres, with the emergence of original energy taxation; in the issue of biodiversity, through the creation of green and blue corridors; in the consideration of the regional dimension of environmental issues; and in the increased debate on sustainable development.

The Grenelle Environment Forum: the environment at the heart of the national political debate

When the President of the Republic took office in May 2007, he decided that, in view of the fact that France was experiencing a very deep climate and ecological crisis, the actions to be taken must be chosen by society as a whole, since the aim was to mobilise it now and in the long term.

The Grenelle Environment Forum was innovative for a number of reasons:

- The subject matter dealt with was particularly extensive, since it covered not only all environmental issues but also energy, transport, construction and agriculture, from the point of view of their impact on the environment.

- No supporting documents had been prepared for the discussions, so that the proposals would be made by the participants themselves.

- The State chose to stay in the background, which is very unusual in France.

- The time allowed for reaching a consensus was very short (five months).

- The forum linked five actors of equal size, each one representing an equal share of the general interest. Four of these actors were ‘standard’: the State, local authorities, businesses and the unions. The fifth, however, was completely new: it comprised environmental organisations which carried the same weight as each of the other actors. These were charged with playing the role of a new type of union representing the natural world, future generations, and so on. Their representative level still needs to be developed.

This exercise in participatory democracy led, on the one hand, to the adoption of 268 commitments and, on the other, to the desire to create, for the duration of this ‘five-party governance’, a new way of conducting public affairs.

Two laws (known as ‘Grenelle 1’ and ‘Grenelle 2’), adopted successively in summer 2009 and 2010, ensured that those commitments would have a legislative basis.

The Grenelle 1 Law was adopted almost unanimously, which is extremely rare. The law sets out the objectives, defines the framework for action and states the instruments of the policy implemented to combat and adapt to climate change, to preserve biodiversity and the services associated with it, and to contribute to a healthy environment. The law ensures the transition to a new competitive economy in which development is combined with a reduction of needs for energy, water and other natural resources.

The law enshrining the national commitment to the environment, known as ‘Grenelle 2‘, which was enacted on 12 July 2010, is a ‘standard’ law in that it sets out the legal, financial and regulatory means of enabling the attainment of the objectives laid down in the ‘Grenelle 1’ Law. The Law makes numerous references to several codes in view of the variety of fields covered: there are 307 pages and 257 articles, which attests to the work carried out by the two assemblies.

The law is divided into six titles which reflect the main areas covered by the Grenelle Forum: Buildings and town planning, Transport, Energy, Biodiversity, Risks, Health, Waste, and Governance.

The priority given to the issues of climate and energy and the creation of energy taxation

In line with the Energy and Climate Package adopted by the European Council under the French presidency in December 2008, and with increased national sensitivity due to the country’s low resources of fossil energy, energy savings and combating climate change are among the highest-ranking national priorities. In that respect, France’s commitment was confirmed to reduce by a quarter its greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2050, that is to a level of less than 140 million tonnes of CO2 eq. France has set itself the objective of becoming the most efficient economy in terms of carbon equivalent in the EU by 2020. To that end, France will do its utmost to achieve the European reduction objective of at least 20 % of greenhouse gas emissions by that deadline, with this objective to be increased to 30 % provided that other industrialised countries outside the EU commit to comparable objectives and that the most advanced developing countries contribute accordingly. France will also support the conclusion of international commitments to the reduction of emissions. France will likewise work towards attaining the objective of improving energy efficiency in the EU by 20 % and undertakes to increase the share of renewable energies to at least 20 % of its final energy consumption by 2020.

The national measures for combating climate change will deal first and foremost with lowering the energy consumption of buildings and reducing the greenhouse gas emissions of the transport and energy sectors. In that connection, the increased power of new fiscal tools favouring the reduction of greenhouse gases is an innovation of the first order. The trial in 2008, followed by the expansion of bonus-malus environmental schemes promoting good practices and penalising the purchase of products with greatest effect on the state of the environment is a novel approach. Particular support is given to the purchase of clean vehicles. This measure has contributed to reducing by around 9 grammes per kilometre the average CO2 emission capacity per unit of new private cars registered in France. Thus, France reached the voluntary EU commitment objective of 140g CO2/km in 2008. The list of products eligible for the scheme is naturally supposed to extend beyond the key sector of transport. At the same time, the eligibility thresholds will become increasingly demanding in order to keep the reduction of pollution on course while limiting the impact of environmental taxation on public finances. The consensus conference organised in July 2009 on the implementation of the Energy and Climate Package enabled a broadly received debate to take place, in the spirit of the Grenelle Environment Forum, in order to make even more inroads into the creation of ambitious environmental taxation. The setting up of a carbon tax is thus at the heart of the national public debate.

The original treatment of the blue and green corridors

Inspired by the results of landscape ecology research, the ‘Grenelle 1’ Law provides for the creation of a network of terrestrial and aquatic natural areas. In that regard, the Law states that between now and 2012, blue and green corridors will be developed which will go beyond the European Natura 2000 Network and will reinforce the commitments entered into by France under the framework directive on water. The green corridor is designed to facilitate the adaptation of species to climate change by permitting them to move around freely. Based on scientific data, it will be composed of areas protected under environmental law to which land will be added so as to link those areas together and to ensure the harmonious and global operation of biodiversity. The scheme will be drawn up and managed in each region in association with local authorities and in consultation with those on the ground in a coherent framework guaranteed by the state. The green corridor will be complemented by the blue corridor, its equivalent for continental surface waters and their associated ecosystems.

Towards a regionalised approach to environmental issues

As part of the many powers devolved to the local authorities in the areas of land use and resource management, the development of capabilities in the fields of monitoring, analysis and management of environmental issues at sub-national level is a matter of priority in France today.

The reform of the decentralised services of the Ministry for the Environment is aimed at strengthening the methods of building awareness of and evaluating the environment at regional level. It is also aimed at bringing together different state technical services at sub-regional (departmental) level to ensure that environmental problems are taken into consideration in the context of the management of urban, agricultural and forestry land (creation of departmental and regional directorates).

Local authorities will thus find a high level of expertise at close hand to assist them in the implementation of their environmental initiatives. Particularly the Agenda 21 initiatives are being promoted.

Action to follow up the report of the Stiglitz-Sen-Fitoussi Commission on the measurement of economic performance and social progress

In accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on sustainable development and the environment, France is working on the preparation of scoreboards of indicators, which would prioritise physical indicators and select indicators to provide information on sustainability, in other words, ones which can be interpreted as variations of the ‘stocks’ which can determine human well-being; recent projects have dealt in particular with the carbon footprint, the consumption of materials and material productivity, ‘unpaid costs’ and the potential of biodiversity.

The Grenelle Forum on the Sea

Following the example of the concerted action achieved in the context of the Grenelle Environment Forum in 2007, an extensive review and a debate were launched in 2009 with a view to defining France’s maritime policy. The ‘five-party governance’ method (formation of five stakeholder establishments composed of qualified individuals and including a large number of overseas representatives) was used again with a view to taking into account all the problems affecting the sea: environmental concerns, and economic, social and human aspects. When the work was completed, 137 commitments had been recorded in a ‘blue book’ which is accessible to the public. The guidelines adopted concern in particular the objectives of a protected marine surface area covering 20 % of the seas under French sovereignty by 2020; the management of marine resources based on reliable, shared scientific opinions; a wide-reaching programme of marine energy facilities; the development of an integrated industrial policy on maritime occupations; and the strengthening of action by the state in connection with the sea.

From the environment to sustainable development: humans at the heart of development

The emergence of a new ministry of State responsible for sustainable development which has taken over the powers of the former environment ministry marks, at institutional level, a turning point in the approach to economic development.

Still largely at the review stage, work has begun on drawing up a conceptual framework for economic development which is no longer assessed only in the light of the rate of growth of gross domestic product. Sustainable methods of consumption and production are considered and promoted. Progress is being made in the creation of urban planning models that are favourable to sustainable development and which promote, in particular, job creation, a social mix, and the low consumption of space and energy.

Taking as starting points a thorough review of the system of governance of the environment and the setting of shared objectives in French society, which are the subject of broad consensus, public policies are developing appreciably with clear priority being given to combating climate change and the reduction of energy consumption. That trend is reflected at national, regional and local levels. The approach to the environment is intended to extend, in addition, to the conceptual level so that it overlaps with the field of sustainable development.

The movement begun in France is naturally part of a long-term perspective. The efforts made will translate into results over time. In that context, the French report on the state of the environment, published in June 2010, and the adoption of the new national strategy on sustainable development in July 2010 will serve as reference points. Based on rigorous statistical work, it will identify in particular the long-term trends for the development of the state of the environment in France and the pressures undergone. It will also allow the prognosis provided at European level to be refined in the light of an accurate national perspective.