France said its climate targets would fail under ‘weak and insufficient’ law

France had another punch on its climate policy on Tuesday after the High Climate Council added to criticism of the government’s “climate and resilience” bill, which it called weak and insufficient.

The independent review body set up by President Emmanuel Macron to advise the government on climate policy has warned that France will fail to meet its Paris Agreement targets in the bill’s current form.

France has pledged to reduce its emissions by 40% by 2030, and the bill – aimed at rolling out the 146 proposals of the Citizen’s Climate Convention – is how the government hopes to keep its promises.

But the president of the council, Corinne Le Quéré, declared that the bill “does not offer sufficient strategic scope”, also criticizing a “lack of transparency” on the methods envisaged by the government.

In particular, the council wants to see reforms to the proposals on restrictions on domestic flights and the energy renovation of buildings. He also wants the ban on fossil fuel advertising to be extended to goods and services incompatible with France’s ecological transition.

Delayed transition
The council, which had already warned last year that France was far from its climate targets, stressed that this decade was “crucial” for the implementation of structural climate reforms.

He said the climate bill represented “missed opportunities” for France to step up climate action, which was already lagging behind.

“Emissions have fallen an average of 1.2% per year over the past five years, while the expected reduction was 1.5% per year between 2019 and 2023,” the council said.

He urged the government to define a “clear and predictable trajectory” which will offer French emitting sectors a “more strategic vision” of decarbonization.

Earlier this month, a Paris court ruled that France had failed to take appropriate action to tackle the climate crisis, holding the state legally accountable for its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions .

The “climate and resilience” bill is due to be considered by parliament tomorrow.

The board is due to present a more detailed report on February 23.