France's top court demands stricter climate measures, again

France's top administrative court has ordered the government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a case brought by a town threatened by rising sea levels. It is the second time the court has done so within a year.

The Conseil d'Etat, the State Council, is France's top administrative body. AFP/Archives

The Council of State ordered the government to implement the new measures by 30 June 2024, and to provide an interim report six months later laying them out and determingin their effectiveness, the judges said Wednesday in a statement published by the body's website.

The decision comes in a case brought by the mayor of Grande-Synthe, a suburb of Dunkirk in northern France, in 2019, which accused the government of "inaction on climate" and said the coastal town was in danger of being submerged if sea levels rise.

The city of Paris as well as campaign groups like Greenpeace and Oxfam were also parties to the case.

Damien Careme, centre, at climate change protest in Paris in 2019. While Grande-Synthe's mayor, he petitioned the Council of State over what he called the government's "climate inaction." AFP/File

In 2021 judges first ordered the government to reduce greenhouse emissions by 40 percent compared with 1990 levels by 2030, in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

But an official charged with evaluating the changes told ministers last month that he did not believe they had done enough.

• French mayor goes to court over government’s ‘climate inaction’

"Additional measures have indeed been taken and reflect the government's will to execute the [court] decision," judges said Wednesday.

Nevertheless, "it is still not guaranteed with sufficient credibility that the trajectory of greenhouse gas emissions reduction can effectively be kept up," they added.

⚖️ Emissions de gaz à effet de serre : le Gouvernement doit prendre de nouvelles mesures et transmettre un premier bilan dès cette fin d’année.
➡️ Lire la décision :
https://t.co/gt3eAZEg1i pic.twitter.com/Oyc2mhTC71

— Conseil d'État (@Conseil_Etat) May 10, 2023

Although the court required new measures of the government, the judges on Wednesday stopped short of ordering financial penalties should the state fail to comply.

(with wires)