Article
An Analysis of the Climate Bill: Broken Promises and a Missed Opportunity to Create a Historic Piece of Legislation
An Analysis of the Climate Bill: Broken Promises and a Missed Opportunity to Create a Historic Piece of Legislation
article written by Célia Foulon and Louis Delage A little over two years ago, the President of the Republic announced the creation of the Citizens’ Climate Convention, a group of 150 citizens selected at random to be representative of the population. The goal: to give citizens a voice in shaping a socially just climate law that would reduce France’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2030. Our President had made a promise: to submit this bill “without filters”—either to a parliamentary vote, a referendum, or direct regulatory implementation—with the exception of three “wild cards” that he reserved for himself. Finally, two and a half years later, the series is drawing to a close, and the outcome falls far short of expectations. Of the 149 proposals put forward by the Citizens' Climate Convention:
- 18 were included "as is"
- 26 were not included at all
- The rest of the measures were only partially adopted. (For example, the elimination of domestic flights when a train alternative taking less than 2 hours and 30 minutes exists was initially strongly supported by the Citizens’ Climate Convention (CCC) for alternatives taking less than 4 hours. Given that alternatives taking less than 2 hours cover only 5 routes—which, moreover, are unprofitable for Air France—one wonders where the initial ambition has gone.)
At the very least, this initiative has shown that citizens, After receiving training on the realities of climate change and its causes and consequences, they were ready to propose ambitious measures, which can sometimes be restrictive—even for themselves—but are commensurate with the stakes. This proves that We know what solutions are needed to address the climate crisis, but it seems that political leaders— perhaps due to a lack of long-term vision and conviction in the face of economic power struggles, or perhaps due to a lack of training - is not yet ready to rise to the challenge. While the bill as a whole is still a welcome first step, it is essential that we understand thatIt is not yet sufficient in terms of quantity.The impact report for the bill itself states that the measures will not make it possible to achieve the target of a 40% reduction in emissions between 1990 and 2030. This may explain why the members of the Citizens' Climate Convention gave the government a score of 3.3 out of 10 for its implementation of their proposals. We propose a brief An analysis of various measures proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention (CCC) that were not included as is in the latest version of the bill, released on May 4, 2021, which still needs to be reviewed by the Senate. This analysis confirms that the bill does not achieve the very objective for which it was intended.Download the reference tableAn Analysis of the Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention (CCC) in the Latest Version of the Climate Bill
Consume
Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention | Actual Scope of the Bill | Calendar | Comment |
Develop and then implement a carbon score for all consumer products and services. | Lack of clarity regarding the specific products and services involved, which will be finalized following a pilot phase. | A pilot phase supervised by ADEME, which may last up to 5 years, will lead to the permanent implementation of this measure. | - No guarantee is provided regarding the government's commitment to overseeing the standardization of environmental labeling. - No details are provided regarding the criteria that will be used to determine whether the pilot program has concluded with a "favorable outcome." |
Make education, training, and awareness-raising key drivers of responsible consumption | Awareness of environmental issues is firmly embedded in the Environmental Code. | Effective immediately. | Although environmental education has been incorporated into the Education Code, the details of how it is to be implemented remain unclear, and there is no mention of creating a new subject. |
Effectively and efficiently ban advertising for products with the highest GHG emissions across all advertising platforms | Advertising is prohibited only for the marketing and promotion of fossil fuels. A few other polluting products are subject to environmental labeling requirements. | Effective immediately. | The scope of the bill is very limited compared to the CCC’s proposal, which aimed to restrict advertising incentives that encourage overconsumption in several polluting sectors, such as the automotive industry. |
Reduce excessive packaging and the use of single-use plastics by promoting bulk sales and returnable containers at retail locations | 20% of the retail space in stores larger than 400 m² must be dedicated to bulk sales by 2030. | January 2030. | - A scaling back of the CCC’s goals, which had proposed that 50% of the product offering be sold in bulk by 2030 for both small and large retailers. - No details on the projected growth of bulk sales by 2030, whereas the CCC had proposed 25% of the total supply as early as 2023. |
Eating
Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention | Actual Scope of the Bill | Calendar | Comment |
Introduce a daily vegetarian option in public institutional dining starting in 2022, including in institutional dining facilities with a single-menu option | - Local governments that choose to do so must offer a vegetarian menu option every day in the institutional food service facilities under their jurisdiction. - Both public and private operators of government-run institutional food service facilities are required to offer a vegetarian menu option every day. | - A 2-year pilot phase beginning upon the passage of the bill for local governments. - January 2023 for public and private operators of institutional food services. | - Food services managed by local governments account for only one-third of public institutional food services. - The measure regarding local governments does not change anything, since dozens of local governments are already implementing this pilot program. - The timeline for state-run institutional food service providers is one year behind that of the CCC. - The bill makes no mention of institutional food service operations with a single-menu system. |
A set of nine measures aimed at developing agroecology: - Achieve 50% of farms practicing agroecology by 2040; - Develop organic farming; - Nitrogen fertilizers: Increase the General Tax on Polluting Activities (TGAP); - Reduce pesticide use (by 50% by 2025); - Support the development of the protein crop sector; - Support the preservation of permanent pastures; - etc. | The Climate Act’s impact on the agricultural sector is very limited: - A target to reduce ammonia emissions by 13% by 2030 compared to 2005, and a target to reduce nitrous oxide emissions by 15% by 2030 compared to 2015; - No target for the share of farms practicing agroecology; - No target for pesticide use; - No target for support to maintain permanent grasslands. | The only targets are set for 2030 | - None of the nine measures aimed at meeting the CCC’s objective of developing agroecological practices was adopted as is (developing organic farming, significantly reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers, promoting permanent grasslands, etc.). - The government is not yet ready to change the current model of intensive agriculture, even though it is a major source of emissions (36% of national emissions) and inconsistent with the established goals. |
Improve understanding of fish stocks and movements to better set quotas and eliminate overfishing | The government has not taken any action and refers to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). | - | It is the ministers of the EU member states who decide on quotas and set the direction of the CFP, not the other way around. |
Banning advertising for products that are too high in fat, sugar, or salt: The CCC wants to include strong, impactful messages on products that are highly detrimental to consumers’ health and the environment. | The government has not taken any action and says it intends to prioritize voluntary commitments by the industry. | - | The CCC’s hard-hitting messages (“This product is harmful to your health and the environment,” etc.), possibly accompanied by images similar to those on cigarette packs. The goal is not to tell people what they should consume, but to ensure that everyone has access to accurate information about the impacts on the climate and health. |
Produce and Work
Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention | Actual Scope of the Bill | Calendar | Comment |
A set of five measures aimed at promoting more responsible production and developing repair, recycling, and waste management sectors | - Availability of replacement parts for more than 5 years after the last unit of the model in question was placed on the market for power tools for home improvement and gardening, bicycles, and personal mobility devices. - Use of bio-based materials in at least 25% of renovation and construction projects involving public procurement. | - The timeline for spare parts has not been specified. - The target for the share of bio-based materials is set for January 2028. | The scope of the bill is very limited compared to the CCC’s proposals, which called for a more fundamental shift in production across a broader range of products. For example, there is no clear incentive for eco-design, even though that was one of the pillars of the CCC. |
Make climate reporting annual and extend it to all organizations—Scope 3 emissions—penalty for non-compliance as a percentage of revenue. | The Climate Bill rejects the revisions requested by the Convention to Article 173 of the 2015 Energy Transition Act. | - | Annual reporting on total GHG emissions is, however, necessary so that large companies can address the issue of GHG emissions, identify effective courses of action, and provide investors with clear information on the environmental impact of their emissions. |
Supporting the digital transformation to reduce its environmental impacts: - Design products, software, and services with sustainability in mind and promote reuse - Make eco-labels standard on all digital devices - Promote information and education on digital mindfulness practices - Make the carbon neutrality commitments of digital industry players accessible to consumers | The Agec Act requires internet service providers to inform consumers about the environmental impact of the data they use. | January 1, 2022 | The government does not seem ready to use digital technology as a driver for the energy transition. However, if this sector continues to contribute to rising emissions, the GHG reduction targets will not be met. |
Getting Around
Some of the measures proposed by the Citizens’ Convention on Transportation were included in the 2021 Finance Bill. These measures were analyzed during the “Mobility Breakdown” session on January 14, 2021, by Carbone 4, available at the following link: http://www.carbone4.com/decryptage-loi-de-finance-2021/
Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention | Actual Scope of the Bill | Calendar | Comment |
Ban vehicles that emit the most greenhouse gases from city centers | Establishment of low-emission zones by 2025 in all metropolitan areas with more than 150,000 residents. | January 2025. | - The creation of low-emission zones is a positive step. However, the “short-term” timeline proposed by the CCC has been extended to 2025. - The plan to ban the most polluting vehicles from city centers by 2030 has been scrapped. Yet these vehicles have a significant impact on both residents’ health and the environment. |
Ban domestic flights by 2025 for routes where a rail alternative takes less than 4 hours. | Ban on domestic flights for routes where the train journey takes less than 2 hours and 30 minutes. | A decree issued by the Council of State will specify the conditions, but it is not known when this will take place. | - The alternatives with flight times of less than 2 hours apply only to 5 routes that are not profitable for Air France: Economic considerations have taken precedence over environmental ones in shaping this law. - The bill mentions certain “conditions under which [air travel] may be exempted from this ban when air services [...] can be considered to provide carbon-free air travel.” It is important to note here that air travel relying on combustion engines cannot be considered “carbon-free.” |
Prohibit the construction of new airports and the expansion of existing airports. | This measure was not adopted | - | None of the nine extensions currently under way have been prohibited, although they may have a significant environmental impact. |
Finding a Place to Live
Measures Proposed by the Citizens' Climate Convention | Actual Scope of the Bill | Calendar | Comment |
Require homeowners and landlords to carry out comprehensive renovations. | - Rent caps on energy-inefficient buildings prior to the 2028 ban on renting them out - Requirement to conduct an energy audit when selling a building if it is classified as DPE D, E, or F. | The government mentions the goal of having a building stock with low greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but does not provide any further details. | - The French housing stock alone accounts for 16% of GHG emissions and requires a tenfold reduction in emissions to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. - The ban on renting out energy-inefficient buildings is a major step forward. However, the timeline is quite long, and the definition of energy-inefficient buildings is limited to those with an “F” energy performance rating, which applies to only a small minority of housing units. |
Encourage people to limit the use of heating and air conditioning in homes, public spaces, and commercial buildings: - Maximum average temperature of 19° - Avoid using air conditioning when the temperature is below 30° | This measure was not adopted | - | A profound change in the behavior of every member of society toward greater energy efficiency is necessary to move toward a society that is in line with our climate goals. |
-
.jpg%3Fv%3D2026-06-30T09%253A31%253A20.056Z&w=3840&q=75)
