French cities commit to ending fossil fuel production while national government lags
In the wake of the US abandoning the landmark Paris Agreement, Macron catapulted himself onto the world stage with demands to “make our planet great again” but five years later he is now being pegged “as the president of climate inaction”.
As Macron’s climate credentials are being questioned and tested, cities across the country of France are losing patience and making their own demands for real, intentional moves to tackle the biggest driver of the climate crisis - fossil fuels - by endorsing the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.
More than five French municipalities have endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty in the past two months alone, echoing the support for the proposal from Yannick Jadot, green candidate for the 2022 presidential election.
Poitiers was the first city to endorse the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty on December 6, followed by Lyon, Bordeaux, Grenoble, Besançon and, most recently, the territory of Greater Paris which recalls: “Fossil fuels - coal, oil and gas - are polluting energies that we will gradually have to do without to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions."
Sylvain Godinot, Deputy Mayor of the city of Lyon, reaffirmed the urgency of leaving fossil fuels in the ground: “The known reserves of fossil fuels are already much higher than the quantities we can burn while remaining below this acceptable warming threshold. This is why it is urgent that the international community sends a strong signal to stop all new fossil fuel exploration and production activities as soon as possible. All the money invested in these activities must be redirected as soon as possible in the development of energy saving and renewable energies. The International Energy Agency itself has very solemnly called for a halt to all investment in coal, oil and gas. Humanity must leave the fossil reserves in the ground.”
Grenoble, the capital of the French Alps, denounces the lack of commitment to climate change at the national level and shows its willingness to act at the level of the issue: “While there are many failures to address the climate emergency on a national scale, the City of Grenoble calls for support for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative, to stop supporting fossil fuel projects, and to take - at long last - the necessary measures to achieve the greenhouse gas reduction targets in accordance with the Paris Agreement.”
The commitment of these cities to phase out fossil fuels, including France’s third largest city Lyon, marks a concrete change in the willingness of urban territories to act. Until recently, these key players in the fight against climate change were more criticized for uneven and unambitious climate policies.
This is in stark contrast to President Macron's record, which is still far from responding to the climate emergency just three months out from the next election. Under his mandate, the French state was even ordered to repair the damage caused by its climate inaction by 2022. A historic decision, after three years of campaigning by the civil society organizations behind the Affaire du Siècle, which also creates a jurisprudence that will force the state to make up for any overshoot.
At COP 26, France joined the BOGA alliance to phase out oil and gas, as well as the international coalition to stop financing fossil fuels abroad. On paper, these are two positive diplomatic climate initiatives but their legitimacy will depend on the established date of exit from fossil fuels production, as well as concrete actions to stop new concessions and promote international cooperation for a fair phase-out. Instead, France has discussed plans to authorize a non-conventional gas extraction project in Lorraine, acting in total contradiction with its climate commitments.
These endorsements from cities across the world are critical given cities’ key role in the global energy transition. In France, cities represent 80% of the national population and 67% of greenhouse gas emissions but they have more and more powers to make decisions at the local level in the main sectors that emit greenhouse gases, notably transport, housing and food. Some French local authorities also seem ready to work on the active participation of the population in both decision-making and the implementation of concrete energy transition projects. The recent debates around the Citizens' Climate Convention show how important governance issues are, how key it is to involve citizens in decision-making, based on how they too imagine their territories free of fossil fuels.
As France begins its presidency of the European Union and names climate change as one of the continent’s main challenges, Macron’s credentials will continue to face the impressive ambition of his local constituencies.
If you too would like to encourage your city to support the Treaty initiative, all resources are available here.
