Today's Date:

We have just held a meeting of the Interministerial Committee for Sustainable Development. We have updated our national strategy and our action programmes in this sphere, and in particular the government plan to combat climate warming: the Climate Plan.

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The environment is a global issue. Our efforts would be pointless if we were the only ones to commit ourselves to working for the planet's future. At President Chirac's instigation, France is in the vanguard of this battle for the environment. The Kyoto Protocol, the proposal for a United Nations Environment Organization – on all these issues, our country is continuously making active efforts to persuade all our partners to join us.

With the development of the ecotechnologies, we now have an effective argument to convince our partners that the environment isn't just a constraint, but is also a tremendous opportunity for economic development. For industry, developing the best technical solutions to produce more with less energy means opening up new large international markets for the companies involved. It means creating jobs: over 150,000 in France by 2010 for the ecotechnology market and the new energy jobs. This is why we are determined to support this sector, as has just been recommended by Thierry Chambolle, whom I had asked to look into this.

KYOTO POST 2012/CARBON TAX

Nevertheless, as the tough negotiations in Nairobi show, some countries might be tempted to refuse to commit to new efforts post 2012. Given this, I want to speak very plainly. Europe must do its utmost to ensure the rejection of this form of environmental dumping. So I'd like us, with our European partners, to look at the principle of a carbon tax on imports of industrial products from countries refusing to commit to the Kyoto Protocol post 2012. We'll be making our European partners concrete proposals along these lines in the first quarter of 2007.

This resolute choice in favour of environmental protection is at the heart of the values promoted by the European Union. We alone in the world are promoting these values. For the European peoples they promote cohesion and unity in support of a common ideal. They also enhance political power in tomorrow's world. (…)./.