Justice asks Government to “repair ecological damage” of which it is responsible

The administrative court gives until 31 December 2022 to the executive to take “all the useful measures” to offset the excess of CO2 emissions found between 2015 and 2018.

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The Government has until December 31, 2022 to “repair the ecological injury” caused by the non-compliance with France’s commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Ultimatum has just been fixed by the Paris Administrative Court in a decision made on Thursday, October 14 in the context of the “Case of the Century”. Justice enjoins the Prime Minister to “take all necessary measures to repair ecological harm and prevent the worsening of damages”.

In the judges’ collimator: the exceedance of the first carbon budget (the government ceiling has set for the period 2015-2018), estimated at 15 million tonnes equivalent co 2 . The Tribunal notes that the greenhouse gas emission ceiling fixed by the first carbon budget for the period 2015-2018 was exceeded by 62 million tonnes of equivalent equivalent co 2 . The assessment of the injury being at the date of the judgment, the Tribunal evaluates that the substantial reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in 2020, although predominantly linked to the effects of the CVIV-19 health crisis. A specific state action, must be taken into account because it allows, for part, to repair the harm. In the end, consider them consider that the injury endures 15 million tonnes equivalent co 2 .

The court does not specify the nature of the measures to be implemented. “It does not return to the Tribunal to replace the regulatory power by choosing the multiplicity of possible repairs,” had explained the public rapporteur at the hearing on 30 September. She had emphasized the binding nature of climate goals: “It is not a question of dictating to the government what must be its climate policy but to tell it that its commitments must be respected and that their non-respect engages its responsibility.”

This decision marks a new stage in the “case of the century”. After having launched the petition of the same name (more than 2.3 million signatures) to denounce “the climate inaction” of the State, the NGOs our matter at all, Greenpeace, Oxfam and the Nicolas Hulot Foundation had filed, in March 2019, an appeal to the Paris Administrative Tribunal for “faulty default” of the State. In a first judgment, rendered on February 3, the Tribunal had recognized for the first time that the State had committed a “fault” by showing themselves unable to keep its commitments to reduce greenhouse gases over the period 2015 -2018.

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/Media reports.