The French Senate yesterday voted to weaken the nation's pledge to fight climate change following President Emmanuel Macron's pledge to hold a referendum to enshrine the fight against climate change into law.
Photo: Pedro Szekely / Creative Commons Licence: CC BY-SA
The bill faces being sent down to the lower house and could stand to weaken its position as citizens continue to protest in the streets demanding more climate action.
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Much of the opposition, which is dominated by conservative politicians, are looking to reword the bill and use language that is less binding, taking issue with the "guarantee" to fight the climate crisis.
They are also concerned about how the bill could affect French business and their ability to innovate, despite the fact that significant innovations will be required to even meet out any ambitious climate goals.
Members of Macron's party La Republique en Marche (LReM) claim the opposition have drained the proposal of any real substance which could stand to neuter the referendum's viability in law.
In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche, LReM member Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade said this could prevent the agreement from being enshrined in law.
"Despite our numerous attempts to make senators aware of the environmental emergency, they have chosen to oppose the citizens' proposal head-on, and therefore to the consultation of the French on this subject," he said.
The vote was held late on Monday leading to the opposition amending the clause: "(The Republic) protects the environment as well as biodiversity and acts against climate change..."
Macron has pledged to be more public in the fight against climate change as demonstrators claim the country will fail to meet its previously set-out climate goals, due to come into effect in June.
This follows a stark trend in the EU, as reports come in about the true requirements to meet the bloc's 2030 and 2050 climate goals.
Read more: EU's 2030 climate goals still require significant investments
The market appears to be failing to keep up with the demand for renewable sources such as wind energy, which may require innovations and adoptions of alternative forms of generation.
Macron has also been facing criticism from left-wing opposition who claims he has not been doing enough to tackle climate change.
France has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 40% by 2030 and the climate bill is how it plans to achieve tihs.
The original wording of the bill was proposed by a council of 150 members to present to the upper house. However, under French law, both houses must agree before a bill can be passed.
As such, a committee will attempt to come to an agreement to find wording both sides can agree to.
Macron revealed on Sunday he remained committed to a popular vote, not wanting to pass a bill not supported by the majority.
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