PARIS – A French court ruled on Wednesday that France had caused “ecological damage” by insufficiently reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, a historic decision that environmentalists hope to be more than merely symbolic, as such cases are increasingly most taken to international courts.
The court said it would give the French government two months to act before issuing any order to reduce emissions and repair damage, a decision that the four groups that opened the case described as a “victory for the truth”.
“We hope that the court will not limit itself to recognizing the state’s guilt,” said the groups, which included French branches of Greenpeace and Oxfam, in a statement, “but also compel it to finally take concrete steps to at least meet its climate commitments. “
For now, the decision of an administrative court in Paris was more modest, ordering the French State to pay 1 euro ($ 1.20) each to environmental groups, in compensation for the “moral damage” resulting from their “non-compliance with its commitments to fight climate change. “
A statement from the Ministry of Environment said the government “took note” of the court’s decision and was “aware that the initial objectives” of reducing its emissions “have not been achieved”.
He added that a set of new climate-related laws would help France to fulfill its commitments and that the government was “aware of legitimate expectations and is listening to questions from civil society on these issues”.
In a note published by the newspaper Le Monde in June, the environment ministry rejected the accusations of inaction and argued that it could not be considered “solely responsible” for climate change in France, as it results from global activities.
The government may appeal the decision, but it was not clear on Wednesday whether it would.
The process, the first of its kind in France, signals an escalation in French environmental activism. Previous actions have consisted of widespread climatic events and civil disobedience initiatives, including the withdrawal of demonstrators from portraits of President Emmanuel Macron in city halls because of what they consider his insufficient commitment to the environment.
Activists also hope the decision will set a legal precedent for victims of climate change.
The lawsuit was filed in March 2019 by the four groups, which also include the Nicolas Hulot Foundation and Notre Affaire à Tous (“A case that concerns us all”). He followed an online petition urging the French government to fulfill its climate commitments – an initiative that collected more than two million signatures, the largest online mobilization in French history.
The groups said France had violated its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as required by various treaties and national legislation.
In line with the 2015 Paris climate agreement – which aims to limit the rise in global temperature in this century to 2 degrees Celsius (about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels – France passed a law in 2019 that included a target for the country to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
To meet this target, France promised to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5% per year and 3% per year from 2025 onwards. Its emissions fell 0.9 percent from 2018 to 2019, according to a report published in July by France’s High Climate Council, an independent body created by Macron to advise the government on environmental policies.
“The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions continues to be very slow and insufficient to meet current and future carbon budgets,” says the report.
Although emissions around the world have dropped dramatically in the past year because of the coronavirus and travel-related blockages and restrictions, this pattern is unlikely to hold when the pandemic subsides.
In the French case, activists said suing the government was a way of forcing it to fulfill its legal obligations.
But Julien Bétaille, an adjunct professor at the University of Toulouse specializing in environmental law, said the court’s decision had no deterrent effect, as the groups had asked the French government for a symbolic indemnity of just € 1 each.
“Ecological damage has not been taken seriously enough,” he said.
In late 2019, the Netherlands Supreme Court ordered the country’s government to significantly reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The case, brought by the environmental group Urgenda, inspired lawsuits against governments in other parts of Europe, although some courts, including one in Norway, rejected requests from environmental groups.
As the effects of climate change become more pronounced around the world, the issue is gaining momentum among the public. In a recent United Nations Development Program survey of people in 50 countries, 64% of respondents said that climate change was an emergency.
In France, the reckoning led Macron to establish a Citizen Climate Council. He also called for a referendum to add environmental protection to the constitution.