Almost a month after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, the composition of Elisabeth Borne’s government was unveiled on Friday May 20. Behind the Prime Minister, officially “in charge of ecological and energy planning”, two women have been appointed to head these portfolios: Amélie de Montchalin, Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, and Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Energy Transition.
“I call here for a general mobilization of all French people, so that we make ecology our national project”launched Amélie de Montchalin on Friday, alongside Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “A turn that will have to be concretized by actions”, reacted Arnaud Schwartz, president of France Nature Environnement, interviewed on franceinfo. We explain to you why this new duo on the Ecological and Energy Transition questions the actors of the defense of the environment.
Because they lack experience on this subject
Liberals, Amélie de Montchalin and Agnès Pannier-Runacher were respectively in charge of the Civil Service and Industry within the government of Jean Castex. “They are more in the mold of what we have seen from previous governments, far from being up to par on climate issues”commented Jean-François Julliard, the general manager of Greenpeace, on franceinfo.
“These are two ministers who do not have much experience of ecological transition”, adds Anne Bringault, program coordinator at the Climate Action Network. As reminded The world and ReleaseAmélie de Montchalin, a graduate of HEC and Harvard, worked for BNP Paribas and Axa, before becoming a Member of Parliament for Essonne in 2017. The elected official was then appointed Secretary of State for European Affairs, then Minister in charge of Transformation and the Public Service in July 2020.
“We do not see his experience on the ecological transition when this subject is presented as a priority by Emmanuel Macron.”
Anne Bringault, coordinator of the Climate Action Networkat franceinfo
The acolyte of Amélie de Montchalin, a graduate of HEC but also of the ENA, was a finance inspector, then worked within the Caisse des dépôts and headed the Compagnie des Alpes, among others. Arrived at the government in 2018, as Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy and Finance, she was subsequently in charge of the Industry portfolio. In this position, Agnès Pannier-Runacher “worked on the industrial side of offshore wind production and hydrogen production”points out Anne Bringault. “But many other renewable energy sectors need to be developed very quickly”, while France is the only EU country to have missed its renewable energy targets in 2020.
In terms of biodiversity, “one can wonder about the experience that these people have of these questions”adds François Sarrazin, researcher at the Center for Ecology and Conservation Sciences (Cesco) of the Natural History Museum, interviewed on franceinfo. “These questions require having a lot of experience on this. They also require having a vision. (…) This vision, it cannot be improvised overnight”he warns.
Contacted by franceinfo, thelawyer Arnaud Gossement, associate professor of environmental law at the Panthéon-Sorbonne University, nevertheless judges that “in history, the ministers who have revealed themselves to this post did not necessarily have previous environmentalist experience”. “Ministers with an environmental background were not necessarily able to do what they wanted, and others, like Jean-Louis Borloo, were able to reveal themselves”, he develops.
Because they don’t have a very green profile
Beyond the paths of the two ministers, “I’ve never had the opportunity to hear them talk about environmental issues”continues Jean-François Julliard. “So we’ll see, we’ll wait, we’ll judge on parts.”
“Until then, it was not the people who showed a particular enthusiasm or a particular vision for the transformation of a society towards more ecology.”
Jean-Francois Julliard, Director General of Greenpeaceon franceinfo
Anne Bringault is waiting “to meet” the two ministers “to be able to present our proposals to them and judge their willingness to act”. The program coordinator within the Climate Action Network emphasizes, however, that Amélie de Montchalin “was perhaps chosen more for its loyalty than for the dynamics it could put on the ecological transition”but “this remains to be verified”, she agrees. As for Agnès Pannier-Runacher, “we can fear that his vision is very focused on technologies” and “Nuclear is going to be a very important subject for his ministry”, she advances.
Agnès Pannier-Runacher rather has a background in the industry, and a vision rather centered on technologies.
Anne Bringault, from the Climate Action Networkat franceinfo
On Friday, the ministers began to develop their visions of the subject. For Amélie de Montchalin, “ecological transition and territorial cohesion, without ever opposing them”. The new Minister for Energy Transition, for her part, declared that “in the face of the climate emergency, nuclear power is an opportunity for our country, an opportunity for Europe“.
Because two ministries will coexist
For lawyer Arnaud Gossement, the problem lies rather in “the appointment of two ministers”. “We must listen to the scientists. The IPCC and the platform on biodiversity (IPBES) say that we must above all not deal with the environmental crisis in silos, with energy on one side and nature on the other.”
“We have to deal with this environmental crisis as one unit. Everything fits together.”
Arnaud Gossement, professor of environmental lawat franceinfo
With this structure, the risk is “to set aside the question of energy, by disconnecting it from global ecological issues”, continues the professor of environmental law. This one evokes solutions “which may reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, but which could create other problems”, such as nuclear waste management.
Does the creation of a “General Secretariat for Ecological Planning” under the Prime Minister reassure the lawyer? This secretariat, entrusted to Antoine Peillon – former ecology, transport, energy, housing and agriculture adviser to Jean Castex – shall “coordinate the development of national climate, energy, biodiversity and circular economy strategies” and watch “to the proper execution of the commitments made by all the ministries in terms of the environment”. “It is too early to say if this will be progress”, replies Arnaud Gossement. He would have preferred a Deputy Prime Minister in charge of sustainable development, a proposal put forward by Nicolas Hulot in 2007. An independent position, “to ensure that all the projects of all the ministers comply with the right to the environment”.