The implementation of the 'Grenelle de l’environnement' in French law

Dadomo, Christian

Abstract

In the history of the development of French environmental law, the so-called « Grenelle de l’environnement » will probably be remembered as a formidable and the most daring public consultation process ever organised by the French authorities. For many months, representatives of central and local governments, trade-unions and employers’ organisations and environmental pressure groups have gathered and worked together with the view to offering a new vision of sustainable development and of ecology.
An analogy for the Grenelle Agreements which were negotiated during the May 1968 riots at the French Employment Ministry, located on the Rue de Grenelle in Paris, a "grenelle" is a multi-party debate which brings together representatives of central and local government, professional associations and non-governmental organizations, with the aim of coming to a common position on a specific theme.
Over 2 years in 2007 and 2008, the whole process consisted in the initial formulation of recommendations by 6 working groups, followed by a nationwide consultation process and the formulation of 265 firm commitments formulated by 4 “round tables”, the feasibility and practicality of which were assessed by 33 operational committees.

The Grenelle process, which is supposed to transform radically the French economy and society and, notably, open the way to a carbon-neutral economy, developed around 4 main axes:

1. Fight against climate change, primarily by speeding up the energy-efficient renovation of buildings, harmonising guideline and planning documents relative to urban areas, developing renewable energy sources and alternatives to road transport;
2. Conservation and management of biodiversity and natural environment, through the development of the green and blue belt networks, designed to facilitate the circulation of natural species all over France, and reducing the use of pesticides by half within the next ten years provided that alternative solutions are available;
3. Protection of health and the environment, while stimulating the economy, with measures aimed at improving knowledge of nano-materials and the effects of electromagnetic waves, a ban on equipment for children that emits electromagnetic waves, measures to reduce the production of household waste and encourage recycling;
4. The creation of an ecologically responsible democracy by giving representative environmental organisations access to the same discussion bodies as trade unions and employee unions wherever there is a risk of an impact on the environment.

All these measures are intended to pave the way toward a new form of competitive economy, in which development goes hand-in-hand with reduced demand for energy, water and other natural resources.

Transport (construction by 2012 of 2000 kilometers of high speed railway, creating a tax system favouring the least polluting vehicles, establishment of an environmental tax levied on trucks on the roads) and the construction industry (generalization of standards of low consumption in new housing and public building, plus setting up incentives for the renovation of housing and heat buildings) are the two major sectors at the core of those 265 commitments.
Other sectors include:
- energy (development of renewable energy to achieve 20% of energy consumption by 2020, ban on incandescent lamps by 2010, a tax based on goods and services energy consumption ("carbon tax");
- biodiversity (creation of a "green grid" linking natural areas to enable the flora and fauna to live and travel throughout the territory and having the priority on new urban developments);
- agriculture (tripling of the share of organic farming which is expected to reach 6% of agricultural land by 2010, halving the use of pesticides, adoption of a law to regulate the coexistence between genetically modified and other cultures);
- Health (banning sales of building materials and plant protection products (for treatment of plants) containing possibly dangerous substances, mandatory reporting of the presence of nanomaterials in products for general public, establishment of a plan on air quality);
- Research.
While some of this ambitious programme has been partially translated into law, notably by the 2008 Act implementing the 2004 EC Directive on environmental liability, the 2009 and 2010 Finance Acts together with the Act amending the Finance Act of 2008 (Grenelle III), the “Grenelle de l’environnement” is primarily implemented by the Programming Act of 3 August 2009 (Grenelle I) and the Act on the national commitment to the environment of 10 July 2010 (Grenelle II).

Citation

Dadomo, C. (2010, September). The implementation of the 'Grenelle de l’environnement' in French law. Paper presented at Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), Annual Conference, Southampton University, UK

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), Annual Conference
• Conference Location: Southampton University, UK
• Start Date: Sep 13, 2010
• End Date: Sep 16, 2010
• Acceptance Date: Sep 13, 2010
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2010
• Peer Reviewed: Not Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: French law, Grenelle de l’environnement
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/984307
• Additional Information: Title of Conference or Conference Proceedings : Society of Legal Scholars (SLS) Annual Conference