SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Demonstrators take part in a climate march on Oct. 13, 2018 in Paris. (Photo: Jeanne Menjoulet/flickr/cc)
Enough Inaction: Green Groups Sue to Make France Act Boldly on Climate Crisis
"We still have a choice, and the possibility of saving the world"
Mar 14, 2019
Four advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against France on Thursday for failing to take necessary action to tackle the climate crisis.
The French groups--Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme (FNH), Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire a Tous, and Oxfam France--filed their case, which they've dubbed "l'Affaire du siecle" or the case of the century, in the administrative court of Paris.
Boosting support for their action is an online petition, which has already gathered over 2 million signatures, as well as a YouTube campaign video with noted figures including Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche.
To boot, there's a "march of the century" demanding climate justice planned for Saturday, March 16. Over 130 actions have been planned, organizers say.
"We still have a choice, and the possibility of saving the world," said Jean-Baptiste Bosse at a press conference Thursday on the suit. "We're up against the greatest challenge in the history of mankind; as a scientist or as a citizen, I simply do not have the choice not to commit myself."
The "reality of the climate urgency" is clear, the groups said in an earlier press statement (pdf) announcing the legal action. As is the nation's failure to act, given that every administration since the 1960s "has repeatedly postponed the adoption of adequate policies that could have helped avoid the climate catastrophe."
They added:
Despite its long-term involvement in global climate talks, France is not taking further steps to successfully tackle climate change: in this perspective, it should be reminded that the French state committed to do everything in its power to limit the global temperature rise to below 2degC (and eventually, below 1.5deg C), by ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement and many other European programs focused on greenhouse gases reduction and renewable and sustainable energy. France has failed to respect both its international commitments and its own national climate policies.
"We want the French state's commitments and stated ambitions to be translated into concrete action," Noelie Coudurier, who director of Oxfam France's climate section, told FRANCE 24. "And in order to enforce this, we need the courts to recognize the state's responsibility in failing to meet its targets."
The outcome of the case won't be decided quickly, however. The groups say there's a two-year wait time before a judges hears the case and decides whether it should move forward.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Four advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against France on Thursday for failing to take necessary action to tackle the climate crisis.
The French groups--Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme (FNH), Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire a Tous, and Oxfam France--filed their case, which they've dubbed "l'Affaire du siecle" or the case of the century, in the administrative court of Paris.
Boosting support for their action is an online petition, which has already gathered over 2 million signatures, as well as a YouTube campaign video with noted figures including Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche.
To boot, there's a "march of the century" demanding climate justice planned for Saturday, March 16. Over 130 actions have been planned, organizers say.
"We still have a choice, and the possibility of saving the world," said Jean-Baptiste Bosse at a press conference Thursday on the suit. "We're up against the greatest challenge in the history of mankind; as a scientist or as a citizen, I simply do not have the choice not to commit myself."
The "reality of the climate urgency" is clear, the groups said in an earlier press statement (pdf) announcing the legal action. As is the nation's failure to act, given that every administration since the 1960s "has repeatedly postponed the adoption of adequate policies that could have helped avoid the climate catastrophe."
They added:
Despite its long-term involvement in global climate talks, France is not taking further steps to successfully tackle climate change: in this perspective, it should be reminded that the French state committed to do everything in its power to limit the global temperature rise to below 2degC (and eventually, below 1.5deg C), by ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement and many other European programs focused on greenhouse gases reduction and renewable and sustainable energy. France has failed to respect both its international commitments and its own national climate policies.
"We want the French state's commitments and stated ambitions to be translated into concrete action," Noelie Coudurier, who director of Oxfam France's climate section, told FRANCE 24. "And in order to enforce this, we need the courts to recognize the state's responsibility in failing to meet its targets."
The outcome of the case won't be decided quickly, however. The groups say there's a two-year wait time before a judges hears the case and decides whether it should move forward.
Four advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against France on Thursday for failing to take necessary action to tackle the climate crisis.
The French groups--Fondation pour la Nature et l'Homme (FNH), Greenpeace France, Notre Affaire a Tous, and Oxfam France--filed their case, which they've dubbed "l'Affaire du siecle" or the case of the century, in the administrative court of Paris.
Boosting support for their action is an online petition, which has already gathered over 2 million signatures, as well as a YouTube campaign video with noted figures including Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche.
To boot, there's a "march of the century" demanding climate justice planned for Saturday, March 16. Over 130 actions have been planned, organizers say.
"We still have a choice, and the possibility of saving the world," said Jean-Baptiste Bosse at a press conference Thursday on the suit. "We're up against the greatest challenge in the history of mankind; as a scientist or as a citizen, I simply do not have the choice not to commit myself."
The "reality of the climate urgency" is clear, the groups said in an earlier press statement (pdf) announcing the legal action. As is the nation's failure to act, given that every administration since the 1960s "has repeatedly postponed the adoption of adequate policies that could have helped avoid the climate catastrophe."
They added:
Despite its long-term involvement in global climate talks, France is not taking further steps to successfully tackle climate change: in this perspective, it should be reminded that the French state committed to do everything in its power to limit the global temperature rise to below 2degC (and eventually, below 1.5deg C), by ratifying the Paris Climate Agreement and many other European programs focused on greenhouse gases reduction and renewable and sustainable energy. France has failed to respect both its international commitments and its own national climate policies.
"We want the French state's commitments and stated ambitions to be translated into concrete action," Noelie Coudurier, who director of Oxfam France's climate section, told FRANCE 24. "And in order to enforce this, we need the courts to recognize the state's responsibility in failing to meet its targets."
The outcome of the case won't be decided quickly, however. The groups say there's a two-year wait time before a judges hears the case and decides whether it should move forward.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.