- Europe :
for environment as well
as for most policies, France must follow European regulation
and European countries tend to get closer and closer. The major
specificities are :
- France is very indisciplined
and has been condemned several times to heavy fines by the European
Court of Justice for not following Environmental European "directives"
(laws), for instance regarding the protection of migratory birds
(not to alienate hunters), of fishing resources (not to alienate
fishermen), nitrogen in water (not alienate Breton farmers) etc...
- nuclear : France has a very strong and long - established
nuclear policy where for instance Germany has banned nuclear
power-plants
- Kyoto protocol : France discharges 3 times less CO2 per
inhabitant than the USA : 8 tons per inhabitant per year compared
to 24 (see detailed figures)
due to :
- the importance (almost 80%)
of nuclear power plants
in the production of electricity
- the much lower gas consomption
of European cars
- much less waste of energy in
housing (heating, air-conditioning, etc...)
- much better systems of public
transport : fast trains, metro, street cars.
- more energy-efficient urban
development (less urban sprawl)
- In comparison
to the USA, France ranks
rather favorably on many environmental indexes (even if some
US states like California have very advanced policies). See more
detailed figures.
- Politics
: several political parties
campaign at a national level on environmental issues. They are
weak and divided and the three most significant did not represent
more than 3 or 4 % of the vote altogether at the national level
(but more at the local level) : the Green (les Verts) generally in association
with the Socialist Party, Cap 21 ( less politically oriented) and Jose
Bové (associated
with extreme Left-wing). However in the 2009 European Elections, they did very well : Green (Europe Ecologie) : 16,3%
and Alliance Ecologique 3,63% (the other parties : Right (UMP) 27,8%, Left (PS) 16,48%, Center (Modem) 8,4%)
- Taxes (in France, everything starts and ends
with taxes) : there
is a strong trend toward generalizing specific taxes to finance
the elimination of potentially polluting products. They already
exist for cars (bonus/malus : a premium or a tax depending on
the energy efficiency, up to several thousand euros), on packaging,
on electronic devices, on batteries, etc... There is even a tax
on paper plates and plastic glasses ("picnic tax")
which is currently considered and, as I think no food or drink
deserves that, I fully support it!
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- Parks
: France has 9 national parks (Cévennes in Central mountains,
Ecrins-the most visited one-, Vanoise and Mercantour in the Alps,
Guadeloupe, Guyane and Reunion in overseas territories, Port-Cros
on the Mediterranean sea, Pyrénées at the Spanish
border) and 45 regional parks, covering altogether almost 15%
of the country, quite a sizeable proportion. By the same token,
the "Conservatoire du Littoral", a public body, purchases
every year between 10,000 and 25,000 acres along the coast to
prevent it from being developed and owns now more than 900 km
of coast line, a very significant figure. More about French
geography.
- Grenelle de l'Environnement : in October 2007, newly elected president
Sarkozy organized large meetings to include effective changes
in the policy of his administration regarding environmental concerns,
following his campaign commitment (very popular environmental
activist Nicolas Hulot
had threated to run for President if the candidates did not commit
to do anything significant in the field of environment). Key
decisions include building additional 2,000 km of high speed
rail network, four times more mass transit lines, suspending GM commercial crops, investing a billion
euros in new energy sources, new generation engines and biodiversity
(including a "green network" linking natural areas),
tax credits for thermal renovation, new standards of energy efficiency
in housing, a "green disk" for cars (a bonus for energy
efficient cars and tax for others), etc...
- Environment and hunting : Hunting is a big issue in France. The
number of hunters is close to 2 million and they are very attached
to the right to hunt. This goes back to the French Revolution
which abolished the exclusive right of nobility to hunt and now
hunters can hunt on any private property. They even have their
own political party. Ecologist movements of course support the
European restriction to hunting endangered species and hunting
migrating birds on their way back to Europe. But the European
regulation is constantly challenged by French hunters who
consider the ecologists their worst enemies.
DID YOU KNOW
THAT ....? Environment is one of the causes of anti-Americanism
in Europe in general and in France in particular. The French
were very shocked when the USA refused to sign the Kyoto agreement
and the Americans are considered energy wasters who damage the
Earth with their energy-inefficient cars, the absence of efficient public
transport in cities and the absence of a real passenger train
network, the waste of energy in houses , etc... The French do
that as well, but on a much smaller scale. By the same token, the French expected that the Copenhagen Conference on Climate (Dec.2009) would bring significant commitments of the major "carbon polluters" (China, USA, India). They were disappointed when it failed and blame it on the USA. |