environmental NGOs are calling for “putting the ecological transition back at the top of the political agenda”

Pointing to “first alarming signals” for the ecological transition, organizations are calling on the new Prime Minister to integrate these issues into his policy.

“What is Michel Barnier doing in relation to alarming climate signals?” On the eve of the new Prime Minister’s general policy declaration before the National Assembly, several NGOs from the Climate Action Network gathered on Monday, September 30, to call for “put the ecological and just transition back at the top of the political agenda”. In front of journalists gathered in front of the Palais-Bourbon, the Climate Action Network, WWF, Greenpeace, the Cler network, France Nature Environnement (FNE), Oxfam and 350.org were keen to recall the consequences of global warming in France. “The ecological emergency is here, we have made fairly strong international commitments, we are awaiting the implementation of these commitments, but we could have a general policy declaration which would say exactly the opposite”fears Antoine Gatet, president of FNE.

“We are impatiently awaiting the general policy declaration. The NGOs refuse any defeatism, we are more mobilized than ever for a combative year. Because every tenth of a degree counts.”

Anne Bringault, director of programs at the Climate Action Network

during a press conference

Before this meeting, NGOs are worried about “first alarming signals”. “The general secretariat for ecological planning is no longer around the table, at Matignon. (…) Without a political direction taken by the Prime Minister, the weight of the Minister of Ecology in the arbitrations risks being very weak”alerts Cécile Duflot, director of Oxfam. The new Minister of Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, also finds herself at the head of a private Ministry of Transport and Housing, to which NGOs reacted by denouncing a “dismembered ecological transition”.

“After having cut off the arms of the ministry, we will try to cut off its legs” with the future finance bill, illustrates Jean Burkard, WWF advocacy director. Gabriel Attal’s government had in fact announced savings of 10 billion euros in February, including two billion euros less for “sustainable ecology, development and mobility” programs. And the preparatory ceiling letters for the 2025 draft budget suggest that the new credits allocated to the Green Fund, the government program intended to accelerate the ecological transition in local authorities, will be cut by almost 1.5 billion euros. Gold “there is a need to quantify and finance the transition over time”defends Alexis Monteil-Gutel, co-director of the Cler network.

“End of climaticidal tax loopholes”, “support of the dynamic” on efficient housing renovations, “contribution of the wealthiest and most polluting economic actors”… Faced with these concerns, NGOs want to put solutions on the table. “We had the big speeches, the phrases about ‘ecological debt’, ‘the five-year term will be ecological or it will not be’. We are waiting for action”argues Antoine Gatet.

The NGOs are also asking to initiate consultation on structuring texts and “very late”. They thus cite, like the High Council for the Climate before them, the new national low carbon strategy (SNBC), the third National Plan for adaptation to climate change (PNACC-3) or the multi-annual energy programming (PPE ). Finally, they ask to meet the government, which the NGOs say they have requested.