Believing that the European Union has done “more than all the neighbours”, the Head of State pleaded a “need for stability” to be more competitive against the United States and China. But what are these environmental standards?
“Now we have to execute.” On the occasion of his speech on the reindustrialization of France, Emmanuel Macron called on Thursday to “a European regulatory break“in terms of environmental standards, considering that the European Union had done”more than all the neighbors“and that she now had”need for stability“.
>> “Irresponsible”, “confession of failure”: the association Les Amis de la Terre castigates the words of Emmanuel Macron who asks for a break “in terms of environmental standards”
“We are ahead, in regulatory terms, of the Americans, the Chinese or any other power in the world“, estimated the Head of State during the presentation of his strategy to accelerate the reindustrialization of France. we have to execute. We must not make new changes to the rules, because we will lose all the players“, he still pleaded. Otherwise the “risk” East “to be the best bidder in terms of regulation and the lowest bidder in terms of financing“. An outing that notably reacted to deputies and environmental activists.
“Shaping Global Action”
But what exactly is Emmanuel Macron talking about? In the climate field, we can say that the European Union has advanced at a forced march. In just a few years, it has adopted ambitious environmental standards with the objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, with, precisely, the idea of making it “more than all the neighbors“in order to create a ripple effect.”Shaping global action” is one of the leitmotifs of EU climate action. In particular, it has adopted the acceleration of renewable energies, revised its carbon market, voted to end the sale of thermal and hybrid vehicles by 2035 and adopted regulations on imported deforestation.
Six months before the start of negotiations for the Paris agreement, the Union had, for example, proposed a 40% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030. And the European objectives have moreover been revised to upwards: the reduction in emissions for 2030 is now set at 55%. With a series of regulations to achieve this. As part of the European Green Pact, the latest standard adopted at the end of March is the binding target of 42.5% renewable energy by 2030. We can also mention, among other things, the carbon tax that will apply to imported products. for CO2 emissions during their manufacture, the planned disappearance of thermal engines for new cars in 2035, or even the reduction of more than 4% per year in companies’ CO2 emission quotas.
This “climate package” will have a real effect, but it is now necessary to move on to the application of its new laws, which notably involves financial investments and upgrading to standards.
And sensitive subjects still remain to be negotiated, and they are highly disputed. These are the renovation of buildings, the fight against polluting chemical products, including pesticides or PFAS. These are important projects to open up: agriculture and industry are areas that are not obtaining good results in terms of reducing emissions.
Political concerns
Still, Emmanuel Macron is not the only one who wants a break in Europe in the field. It is moreover this context which fuels the concern: there is, in Europe, fatigue in the face of climate legislation. The right and the far right have thus hardened their positions in the latest negotiations. This call for a break from the French president raises fears of an alignment of the liberals with the now hardline position of the right.
The Élysée, however, insisted on the fact that Emmanuel Macron had not requested either a suspension or a moratorium and even less a repeal “current standards under discussion“. The Élysée says it wishes to go to the end of the ongoing negotiations on the “Green deal”, specifying that the current framework is not an obstacle. “The president does not speak of suspension, but of carrying out the decisions already made before making new changes“, specifies the executive. And to slip that “The decisions already taken constitute the most ambitious in the world to date.“
The idea defended is not to then open other sites so as not to create a climate of instability. In essence: much ado about nothing… one year from the European elections.