PARIS – A French court on Wednesday ruled that France had caused ‘ecological damage’ by inadequately reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, a ruling that environmentalists said they hoped was more than merely symbolic, as such cases are increasingly being brought before international courts.
The court said it would give the French government two months to act before issuing an order to reduce emissions and repair the damage, a ruling outlined by the four groups that filed the case. as a “victory for the truth”.
“We hope the court will not confine itself to acknowledging the guilt of the state,” the groups, which include the French branches of Greenpeace and Oxfam, said in a statement, “but they will also eventually force take concrete measures to at least assemble. its climate commitments. ”
The decision of an administrative court in Paris was more modest for now and ordered the French state to pay 1 euro ($ 1.20) to the environmental groups each, in compensation for the “moral damage” due to the failure ” to fulfill its obligations in the fight against climate change. “
A statement from the Ministry of the Environment said the government had “taken note” of the court ruling and was “aware that the initial objectives” to reduce emissions had not been achieved.
It added that a set of new climate-related laws would help France meet its obligations and that the government was ‘aware of the legitimate expectations and listened to civil society questions on these issues’.
In a statement published by the newspaper Le Monde in June, the Ministry of the Environment rejected the allegations of acts and argued that it could not become a “unique responsibility” for climate change in France, because it is the result of global activities.
The government can appeal against the ruling, but it was unclear on Wednesday whether that would happen.
The lawsuit, the first of its kind in France, indicates an increase in French environmental activism. Earlier action consisted of widespread climate demonstrations and civil disobedience initiatives, including protesters’ removal of portraits of President Emmanuel Macron in city halls over what they see as insufficient commitment to the environment.
Activists also hope that the ruling will set a legal precedent for victims of climate change.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2019 by the four groups, which also includes the Nicolas Hulot Foundation and Notre Affaire à Tous (“an issue that concerns us all”). It follows an online petition urging the French government to meet its climate commitments – an initiative that has garnered more than two million signatures, the largest online mobilization in French history.
The groups said France had violated its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as required by various treaties and national legislation.
In line with the 2015 climate agreement – which seeks to limit global warming this year to 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels – France adopted a law in 2019 that aims to for the country to be carbon. -neutral by 2050.
To achieve this goal, France has promised to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 percent each year, and by 2025 annually from 3 percent. Its emissions fell by 0.9 percent from 2018 to 2019, according to a report published by the French Climate Council in July, an independent body led by Mr. Macron was established to advise the government on environmental policy.
“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is still too slow and insufficient to meet current and future carbon budgets,” the report said.
Although the release worldwide dropped sharply last year due to the coronavirus and the associated blockages and restrictions on travel, the pattern is not expected to apply when the pandemic subsides.
In the French case, the fighters said the government’s indictment was a way to force him to fulfill his legal obligations.
But Julien Bétaille, associate professor at the University of Toulouse, which specializes in environmental law, said the court ruling had no deterrent effect, as the groups demanded symbolic damages of only € 1 each from the French government.
“Ecological damage was not taken seriously,” he said.
At the end of 2019, the Dutch Supreme Court ordered the country’s government to significantly reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The case, filed by the environmental group Urgenda, has inspired lawsuits against governments elsewhere in Europe, although some courts, including one in Norway, have rejected requests from environmental groups.
As the effects of climate change around the world become stronger, the issue is gaining more traction among the public. In a recent survey of the United Nations Development Program among people in 50 countries, 64 percent of respondents said that climate change is an emergency.
In France, Macron called for the urging of a Citizen’s Climate Council. He also called for a referendum to apply environmental protection to the Constitution.