• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Friday, June 2, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

NGOs Accuse France of Climate Inaction in Landmark Court Case

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
01/13/21
in Environment, Featured, World
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018. Photo: Nicolas Tucat / AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

A Paris court will begin hearing a complaint brought by NGOs backed by two million citizens on Thursday accusing the French state of failing to act to halt climate change.

The NGOs went to the court to hold the state responsible for ecological damage and say victory would mark a symbolic step in the fight to persuade governments to do more.

An international accord signed in Paris five years ago aims to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, and preferably to 1.5 degrees.

But experts say governments are far from meeting their commitments and anger is growing among the younger generation over inaction, symbolized by the campaigns of Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg.

The French case is part of a mounting push from climate campaigners across the world to use courts against governments.

In 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ordered the Netherlands to slash its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent of 1990 levels by the end of 2020 after a case brought by an NGO.

The French case began in December 2018 when four NGOs accused the government of failing to reduce emissions in a formal complaint backed by more than two million people in an online petition — a French record.

Unsatisfied with the response, the NGOs, including Greenpeace France and Oxfam France, then filed their legal complaint in March 2019 seeking symbolic damages of just one euro ($1.21) from the state.

Exceeding carbon budgets

“We are full of hope for this hearing and the decision that will follow,” Jean-Francois Julliard, director of Greenpeace France, told AFP.

Julliard said he wanted the court to recognize that the state was not doing enough.

“The icing on the cake would be a decision to urge the state to do more to put France back on the trajectory of the Paris Agreement“, he said.

While France has committed to reducing its emissions by 40 percent by 2030 compared with 1990, the NGOs say it is exceeding the carbon budgets it pledged.

They also complain of shortcomings in the energy renovation of buildings or development of renewable energy, saying this is having a daily impact on the health and quality of life of the French.

Natural disasters ‘increasing’

The NGOs have presented 100 testimonies from individuals with their case, after collecting more than 25,000 online. 

“For me, climate change — with the increase in the frequency of natural disasters, the rise in sea temperatures and the progression of coastal erosion — is a reality now,” said Jean-Francois, a producer of mussels on the island of Oleron in western France. 

The government rejects accusations of inaction, pointing to the energy-climate law of 2019 that “reinforces the climate goals” by aiming for carbon neutrality by 2050 or a 40 percent drop in the use of fossil fuels by 2030.

In its defense sent to the court, the government also rejected the request for compensation over ecological damage, arguing that the French state cannot be held solely responsible for climate change when France represents around 1 percent of global emissions.

Julliard acknowledged the case could be a double-edged sword for the NGOs.

“If we lose, then it will be easy for the state to say: ‘We won in court, so stop your incessant demands,'” he said.

COVID-19’s Climate Gains: What Will Be Left If Economies Open Again?
ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

Mario Draghi
Business

EU Leaders Clash Over How to Tackle Energy Prices

by Staff Writer
October 20, 2022
Julien Bayo
Featured

French Left Under Pressure Over Violence Against Women

by Staff Writer
September 21, 2022
ABN Amro
World

Dutch Bank Apologizes for Role in Slave Trade

by Staff Writer
April 13, 2022
French soldiers in Mali
World

Mali Asks France to Pull Out Troops ‘Without Delay’

by Staff Writer
February 18, 2022
Humanitarian worker places a face mask on a child refugee during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Opinion

As COVID-19 Lingers, Wealthy Nations Must Not Abandon Migrants

by Maria DeJesus
December 21, 2021
migrant boat tragedy
Refugees

31 Die in Deadliest Migrant Boat Tragedy Between France, UK

by Staff Writer
November 24, 2021
Next Post
Jake Angeli speaks to a US Capitol Police officer.

American Democracy Will Prevail

President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Threatening Democracy: The Choice Between Progress and Extremism Has Never Been So Clear

Recommended

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A noose is seen on makeshift gallows as supporters of US President Donald Trump gather on the West side of the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021

Militia Leader Gets 18 Years in Prison Over US Capitol Attack

May 26, 2023
Customers queue to enter a re-opened Zara clothes shop

EU Targets Fast Fashion in Push for Durable Goods

May 23, 2023
A billboard showing the debt limit is seen in Washington, D.C.

US Republicans Upbeat on Prospects for Debt Deal

May 19, 2023
Military hardware rolls through Dvortsovaya Square during a Victory Day military parade in central Saint Petersburg

Pressing Russia, US Shares Nuclear Warhead Data Under Treaty

May 16, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023

Opinion

Migrants waiting at the Turkish border.

Beyond Numbers: Confronting Europe’s Broken Border System

May 30, 2023
A man holding a gun

The NRA’s Continuing Agenda of Fear

May 12, 2023
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

A Supreme Folly 

April 24, 2023
Transgender Army veteran Tanya Walker speaks to protesters in Times Square near a military recruitment centre

Tennessee Is A Drag on the First Amendment

March 26, 2023
Chinese President Xi Jinping

China’s Path to Economic Dominance

March 15, 2023
An earthquake survivor reacts as rescuers look for victims and other survivors in Hatay, a Turkish province where hundreds of buildings were destroyed by the earthquake

Heed the Call of Our Broken World

March 1, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post