High Council on Climate

The High Council on Climate (French: Haut Conseil pour le Climat ) is an independent executive council in the Government of France announced by Emmanuel Macron in 2018 and created on 14 May 2019.[1][2] The council is meant to address the countries climate policy, and produce reports on the progress of France towards its climate commitments.[2][1] The organization was formed separately from the National Council for Ecological Transition which was formed to create a social dialogue body responding to groups, like the Yellow vests movement.[1]

The current chair of the council is Corinne Le Quéré and the council includes 13 scientists and experts in climate change.[3] The council is inspired by the Committee on Climate Change in the UK.[3]

Members edit

Mission edit

The main role of the High Council on Climate is to provide advice and recommendations to the French government on climate change policies and strategies, including the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The council is tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of government policies and actions in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

It has expertise in three areas:[4]

The council publishes annual reports that assess France's progress in meeting its climate targets and provide recommendations for future actions. The reports cover a wide range of topics, including:[5]

  • compliance with France's greenhouse gas emissions reduction trajectory;
  • proper implementation of policies and measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (taxation, subsidies, support, etc.) and develop carbon sinks (forests, soils and oceans);
  • the economic, social and environmental sustainability of these actions;
  • the impact of these actions on the foreign trade balance.

Every five years, it issues a report on France's greenhouse gas emissions reduction trajectory, which is itself revised every five years. In this report, the committee assesses whether this trajectory is sufficient with regard to France's commitment to the Paris climate agreement, European commitments and the commitment to carbon neutrality in 2050, while taking into account the economic and social sustainability of the transition as well as the issues of sovereignty.[6]

The High Council on Climate also engages in public outreach and education, raising awareness about the importance of addressing climate change and the need for urgent action.

External links edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "The creation of a French High Council for Climate is necessary but is not the answer to the "yellow vests" protests". IDDRI. Archived from the original on 2020-11-29. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  2. ^ a b "Haut Conseil pour le Climat". Haut Conseil pour le Climat. Archived from the original on 2020-11-25. Retrieved 2020-11-22.
  3. ^ a b Sauer, Natalie (28 November 2018). "France sets up independent climate council to advise government". Climate Change News. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  4. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (2018-11-26). "Quel est ce Haut conseil pour le climat installé ce matin par Emmanuel Macron?" (in French). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Messad, Paul (2022-06-30). "France unlikely to go 'all the way' on its climate ambitions, experts say". www.euractiv.com. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  6. ^ Olivier, Fontan; Audrey, Berry; Marion, Ferrat; Jacques, Portalier; Paul-Herve, Tamokoue Kamga; Cesar, Amalou (2019-06-01). "High Council on Climate. Acting in line with ambitions - Annual Carbon Neutrality report, June 2019, First annual report of the High Council on Climate of France + general public version + The recommendations of the 2019 report" (in French). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)