No more dispatches or news, the trend of the Grenelle has fallen like a soufflé. Yet it is now that everything must be realized. Some dated and quantified projects, however, emerge from Nicolas Sarkozy’s speech.
The President of the Republic wished for France to “transpose in Spring 2008” a European directive on the future of the commercial cultivation of GMO pesticides. For now, according to him, it is suspended.
Moreover, in 2008, all ministries and state administrations “will conduct their carbon assessment and initiate a plan to improve their energy efficiency by 20%.” Starting in 2009, new vehicles for administrations will be clean.
At the energy level, two objectives emerge. The first is to achieve a 20% increase in energy efficiency in France by 2020. The second is the obligation to achieve more than 95% of electrical energy without impact on the climate.
“We want to make France the leader in renewable energies,” announced the Head of State, with the stated goal of exceeding European ambitions.
2008 will also highlight departments and maritime communities as “research laboratories for renewable energies.” The investment is focused on France’s energy independence, but it must reduce household electricity bills by half by 2020.
In terms of transport, Nicolas Sarkozy announces “2 million trucks that will no longer cross France from North to South” by freeing up railways to assign them to freight.
Finally, buildings and related trades will be completely rethought. All new buildings will meet so-called “low consumption” standards before 2012, and new buildings will produce more energy than they consume.
This synthesis of dated and quantified data remains minimal compared to the scale of the projects inspired by this speech. This Grenelle raises a profound rethinking of our current lifestyles. Will this ambitious set be maintained and to what extent? We will know in the coming months, and Nice Premium will be there to explain the stakes.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, and Planning, Jean-Louis BORLOO, has launched a call for projects for the Sustainable Development Week. “The day after the Grenelle Environment,” he invites everyone to organize actions or participate in this event. And you, where will you be from April 1 to 7, 2008?
Co-author: Céline Merrichelli.
