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The French 2021 Act on the fight against climate change and on resilience strengthening in the face of its effects

Dadomo, Christian

Authors



Abstract

As the Special Committee of the French National Assembly in charge of examining the Bill on the fight against climate change and on resilience strengthening in the face of its effects (Projet de loi portant lutte contre le dérèglement climatique et renforcement de la resilience face à ses effets) (the Climate and Resilience Bill) put it in the first volume of its report,
“(t)he climate emergency is undeniable. If no action is taken, the global warming will lead to rising oceans, precipitation increased in some areas and desertification in others. The results social, economic and geopolitical will be disastrous.”
For France, compliance with the Paris Agreement meant the reduction by six of its greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. To that effect, two major pieces of legislation were adopted: the 2015 Act on energy transition for green growth setting a target a 40% reduction in the emissions in 2030 and the 2019 Act on energy and climate setting the objective of carbon neutrality to be achieved in 2050. However, this was still insufficient to attain the objectives set under the Paris Agreement and the European agenda.
Hence the particular importance of this new Bill/Act which purports to give a new impetus in the fight against global warming.
This Bill and the Act are the result of a wide consultation process that involved a representative sample of the French population, the Citizens’ Convention for climate change set up in October 2019 and is based on its 150 proposals made public on 18 June 2020 and was presented to Parliament in February 2021.
An ambitious text marking a new stage in France's commitment to fight climate change, the Act is divided up into under 6 titles and 17 chapters, mirroring exactly the headings of the Convention report (consuming, producing and working, moving around, housing and food) with 3 added Titles on compliance with the Paris Agreement objectives (title I), reinforcement of the judicial protection of the environment (title VII) and the creation of a system of evaluation of the implementation of the Act (title VIII).
Debated in Parliament under a fast-tracked procedure, the Climate change and Resilience Act was adopted 20 July 2021 and following a decision of the Constitutional Court of 14 August finding the Act to be in compliance with the Constitution with the exception of 14 provisions, promulgated by the President of the Republic on 22 August 2021.

Citation

Dadomo, C. (2021, September). The French 2021 Act on the fight against climate change and on resilience strengthening in the face of its effects. Paper presented at 8th EELF Annual (online) Conference 2021 - Social and Scientific Uncertainties in Environmental Law, Bournemouth University

Presentation Conference Type Conference Paper (unpublished)
Conference Name 8th EELF Annual (online) Conference 2021 - Social and Scientific Uncertainties in Environmental Law
Conference Location Bournemouth University
Start Date Sep 8, 2021
End Date Sep 10, 2021
Deposit Date Sep 8, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Keywords climate change, French legislation, Act of 22 August 2021
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7743587