French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a revamped climate-change agenda in a paywalled article for Le Monde.
Writing in the newspaper, he described world climate goals as being “non-negotiable”, adding that countries must not be “distracted” by the wars in Ukraine and Palestine.
In the article, published on December 29, Macron outlined seven “pillars” of his new climate plan that he wants to see adopted – not just in France but across the world.
The core of the new system is for “the most advanced countries” to lead and bankroll the “green” revolution, urging the likes of France and the US to become the first nations to completely abandon fossil fuels.
Macron also said he wanted such advanced countries to hand over tens of billions of euros to developing states to fund their own shift away from hydrocarbons.
Coal is the number one target for Macron, with the French leader stating it is the dirtiest of all the fossil fuels.
“Emerging countries also have a responsibility, because they are the largest consumers of coal,” he wrote.
“In these countries, we must accelerate the financing of renewable energies but also of nuclear energy, the role of which is key because it is an energy that is both controllable and carbon-free.”
MEPs are insisting that the COP28 climate agreement is effectively a worldwide commitment to “phase-out” fossil fuels in all but name. https://t.co/6KkqJ2xjyS
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 14, 2023
Macron also wants to see the Bretton Woods agreement – the international monetary system based on the US dollar – reformed and expanded, arguing that a larger and more powerful world economic order is now needed.
“Eighty years after its creation, this financial architecture is undersized compared to the size of the world economy and population, [and] it is also largely fragmented,” he said.
“We must therefore review the governance of Bretton Woods and, conversely, ask emerging countries to take their share of responsibility in financing global public goods.”
As with several other European leaders, Macron also called for investments in fossil fuels to be curtailed, saying that private-sector attempts to further fund hydrocarbon infrastructure investment should be penalised.
“The cost of investment must be higher in the future for a player entering the fossil fuel sector,” he said.
“We need a green interest rate and a brown interest rate.”
The new Polish Prime Minister @DonaldTusk has announced that his country is returning to co-operation with the rest of the European Union on issues such as migration and climate change in a bid to strengthen its position in the Euro community. https://t.co/FWO4AhlPCM
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 12, 2023
