French Environmental Priorities: Forecast from APCO

The new French government is expected to have environmental concerns as an important point of policy.  APCO Worldwide forecasts:

The environmental conference is expected to take place in July; this will be an important milestone in the process to define the environmental and energy policy of France – somehow like the–well-remembered–Grenelle de l’Environnement was in 2007.  These discussions, led by Ecology Minister Nicole Bricq, will bring together all the bodies which were represented in the Grenelle–French State, elected officials, representatives from business sector, employees’ unions, associations, and foundations involved in environment protection–but also MPs and Senators who were initially excluded in 2007.  The environmental conference should focus on defining priorities in French environmental and energy policy schemes, as well as best coordination and consultation procedures to implement them. One expects these priorities to include notably biodiversity preservation, environmental impacts on health, new modalities to finance sustainable development.

Worth noting the fact that this conference will also serve as a preparatory phase for the national debate on energy transition, which should be opened during the autumn and be concluded by a framework bill on energy policy in 2013. This debate on energy transition will define French “energy mix”, while nuclear energy contribution is expected to decrease, and the support to renewables.

Source:  French Elections Diary, APCO Worldwide, 2012.