Thirteenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

Following the French President’s speech of 25 April 2019 in which Emmanuel Macron announced a change in the decision-making process regarding the ecological transition agenda, a Citizens’ Convention for climate change was set up in October 2019. Unprecedented democratic experiment in France and inspired from the Irish citizens’ assemblies, the mandate and the objective of this Convention were to rethink all concrete and practical measures designed to help French citizens cope better with climatic change in the fields of transport, housing insulation, and home energy-efficiency improvements with the view to rendering them more efficient; to design complementary incentives or restricting measures and their financing. Made up of 150 chosen at random citizens representing the French society’s diversity, the good working of the Convention is guaranteed by a tripartite institutional structure. Following 8 months of discussion and debate, the Citizens’ Convention on climate made public its 150 proposals on 18 June 2020, which are groups into 6 clusters namely housing, food, consumer behaviour, means of transport, and means of production. The proposals which also includes constitutional amendments have been communicated to the government and Parliament. This paper provides a critical analysis of this new form of citizens’ engagement in climate change policies in France and an analysis of the 150 proposals made by the Convention and the follow-up legislative and regulatory measures taken on the basis of those proposals.