France
France proposes tax credits for green technology
France will spend €500m a year on tax credits for wind and solar power, heat pumps and batteries funded by a tax rise on carbon-intensive fuels
European court hears landmark lawsuits that could shape climate policy
The European Court of Human Rights has heard its first two lawsuits on climate change, brought against the governments of Switzerland and France.
Total escapes court censure over East African oil pipeline
The court said campaigners arguments against the East African crude oil pipeline had changed too much – they are considering an appeal
France seeks EU loophole for French Guiana to power space sector with biofuels
Campaigners have warned the exemption risks setting an incentive for increased logging in Europe’s corner of the Amazon forest.
Airlines plot fight-back against France’s short-haul flights ban
The aviation industry plans to argue that banning short-haul flights is ineffective and impinges on EU citizens’ right to travel between countries
Turn down the heating: France unveils ‘ambitious’ energy saving plan
French people and businesses are encouraged to take shorter showers, turn down thermostats and car pool but none of the measures are binding
Macron promises to abandon gas, oil and coal, but will he deliver?
The re-elected French president performed poorly on climate in his first term and is relying too heavily on nuclear, experts say
French climate bill set for rocky ride after citizens’ assembly slams weak ambition
After the citizens’ assembly complained they had not been fully listened to, lawmakers submitted over 4,000 amendments to Macron’s landmark climate bill
Court condemns French government over climate inaction with symbolic €1 fine
Campaigners have hailed a ‘historic victory’ after an administrative court concluded the French government could be held responsible for breaching its 2015-18 carbon budget
French draft climate law criticised for weakening ambition of citizens’ assembly
President Emmanuel Macron has been accused of backsliding on promises to fully implement the recommendations of a citizens’ assembly on climate change
‘Looking for positivity’: Parisversaire party to revive momentum on climate
After a year disrupted by coronavirus, national leaders are expected to announce climate commitments on Saturday, the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement
France seeks German collaboration on hydrogen in EU green recovery
The EU’s biggest economies are investing billions of euros in building clean hydrogen fuel capacity to decarbonise heavy industry and transport
Citizens’ assemblies on climate change seek to shape the post-Covid recovery
French and British initiatives to involve ordinary people in climate policy are adapting their work in light of the coronavirus pandemic
Stakeholders push for progress on France’s climate adaptation plans
Politicians, citizens and experts meet to discuss how and why France must invest more heavily in climate adaptation after report warns of major national impacts
China pledges to strengthen climate plan
In a joint statement with France, the world’s biggest emitter declared an intention to upgrade its contribution to the Paris Agreement
France off track for ‘ambitious’ climate goal, advisers warn
Emissions cuts are behind the pace to go carbon neutral by 2050, the newly established High Council for the Climate advised government
‘We were ecologists before the capitalists’: the gilets jaunes and climate justice
France’s worst civil unrest in decades was sparked by an anti-pollution tax, but are the gilets jaunes fighting against climate action?
Macron puts European climate bank on EU election agenda
French proponent ‘pleased’ Macron has backed a new institution, although the president’s support was left deliberately vague, said a government official
Under fire, France’s ‘King Macron’ surveys nation on climate policy
After two months of disruption, the president seeks public input on four national issues, but gilets jaunes protestors are sceptical
French senate ‘failed to heed’ UN science warning before protests
A major climate report in October found shifting to a green economy risked social disruption, but French senators told a scientist they were ‘powerless’ to respond