French parliament to vote new climate law criticised by green groups

TheFrenchparliamentis set tovotethrough anewclimatechangelawon Tuesday intended by President Emmanuel Macron to reinforce hisgreencredentials one year ahead of nationalelections.

The draft legislation is almost certain to be approved in a first reading by the lower house ofparliament, where Macron has a working majority, but it has been heavilycriticisedby environmentalgroups.

Campaigners see it as too timid given the pace ofclimatechange globally and accuse theFrenchleader of half-hearted commitment to a cause he has admitted to embracing belatedly.

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France's environment minister, Barbara Pompili, has defended the text, saying it "will affect the daily life of all of our citizens" and is "one of the biggestlawsof the (president's) term".

Measures include bans on domestic flights under two and half hours that can be done by train, restrictions on renting badly insulated properties, or the creation of anew"ecocide" crime to punish polluters.

The overall aim is to put in place measures that will enable France to meet its target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent compared with 1990 levels by a deadline of 2030.

Lobbygroupssuch as Greenpeace have called it a "lost opportunity of Macron's term", while even the president's own environmental advisory council said it would "have a potentially limited impact".

It is also less ambitious thannewtargets for 55 per cent cuts agreed at the EU level and falls short of a German plan which was rejected last week by the country's constitutional court as "insufficient".

Climatechange and protection of the environment are likely to be bigger themes in next year's presidentialelectionthan the last one in 2017, which Macron won while barely campaigning on the issue.

The mainGreenparty in France made major gains in cities such as Strasbourg, Bordeaux and Lyon in localelectionslast year, mirroring a Europe-wide trend in favour of environmentalgroups.

In Germany, theGreenparty has overtaken Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives in recent polls.

Theclimatelawhas also been a test of what Macron billed as a more inclusive form of government that has seen members of the public invited to help draft the legislation.

After anti-government riots by so-called "yellow vest" protesters in 2018, he pledged to change his leadership style which was seen by critics as too centralised and removed from the wider public.

A hundred and fifty people were chosen at random to form a "Citizen's Convention onClimate" which was tasked with recommending measures that would enable the country to meet its emissions targets.

But after seeing the legislation submitted toparliament, many members felt let down and accused Macron of reneging on a commitment to adopt their ideas.

Cyril Dion, a leading figure from the convention, attended a protest rally calling for bolder action in March and said thelaw"absolutely does not enable France to meet its objectives."

The government counters that is trying to find a balance between reducing emissions while protecting workers and industry at a time when the economy has been battered by the Covid pandemic.

"With thelaw, we are walking a fine line, making big changes while keeping it economically and socially acceptable," Pompili told the Financial Times last week.

Macron was stung by the "yellow vest" protests which were initially sparked by environmental policies such as raising taxes on diesel as well as old, polluting cars.

His predecessor Francois Hollande was forced into a U-turn by truck drivers, known as the "red hats", who protested against his efforts to impose an environmental tax on heavy-goods vehicles.

Even if passed by the lower house and the Senate, thenewlawwill almost certainly need to be updated in order for France to keep up with evolving European Union targets for emissions reductions.

The EuropeanParliamentand EU member states agreed a target in late April of cuts of at least 55 per cent by 2030 from 1990 levels -- compared to the 40 per cent target set in theFrenchlaw.