The COP21 agreement is necessary but not sufficient; it requires states to uphold and strengthen their commitments, followed by major companies.
For this, citizens must maintain their pressure on public authorities?
According to Laurent Lanquar, “we must realize that we are in a finite world, and thus, infinite growth is impossible. We consume nearly twice what the earth can sustainably produce each year. We can no longer continue to exploit all our resources excessively, whether they are mineral, plant, animal, or human.”
COP21 could therefore be a tremendous tool. To initiate this dynamic, Nicolas Hulot had proposed signing the manifesto “Osons!” an initiative unfortunately overshadowed by terror-related news events.
Environmentalists have proposed a local departmental adaptation of these proposals: “12 sustainable perspectives to implement in 2016” to meet the challenges facing future generations.
1. Finally regulating finance
Create help desks for tax reduction for individuals and companies to invest in ecology (local and non-relocatable employment).
2. Put the economy at the service of humanity
Develop structures for personal service to combat isolation and rebuild social bonds between generations.
3. End the abuses of multinationals
Promote short supply chains, local SMEs, with local labels and networking of production companies.
4. Produce and consume in a virtuous circle
Develop a circular economy, with local production units resulting from consumption in the Alpes Maritimes (over 1M residents year-round, +200k tourists in winter, and 1M in summer).
5. Divest from oil investments
Redirect investments in favor of renewable energies by creating local energy production structures and becoming the first solar region in France.
6. Integrate pollution into sales prices
Implement a local tax for heavy trucks in transit, which cross our region without adding value.
Develop quality regional public transport with high-frequency TER on the coast (6 TER/hour) and guaranteed service in the valleys (train des pignes and des merveilles) by developing intermodality with other networks (a single ZOU! card for all modes of transport).
7. Keep the earth’s blue color
Extend natural coastal zones by limiting private beach concessions to return beaches to the public with programs for discovering marine biodiversity.
8. Preserve the soil, the support of life
Build the city within the city with a generalized land enhancement program, creating a green line that prohibits any new construction around already urbanized areas, thus limiting soil sealing and the fragmentation of natural spaces.
9. Feed without destroying
Create a new local bio-farm in each valley, particularly for high school cafeterias and collective catering.
10. Strengthen social justice to combat climate change
Assist with housing insulation for low-income individuals who cannot benefit from tax credits.
11. Reinvent democracy
Create local assemblies to involve citizens in institutional debates to relay the skills and discussions of the Regional Council closer to the residents.
12. Give local governance to the environment
Involve all local environmental stakeholders (associations, collectives, citizens) in decision-making bodies, notably by giving them access to data (open data) and studies. Allocate them a portion of study budgets to carry out the studies they deem necessary that are not being conducted today.
