Today's Date:

Interview given by M. Jean-Louis Borloo, Ministre d'Etat, Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Planning and Development, to the weekly magazine "Le Figaro Magazine".

THE MINISTER – The situation is serious. Everything's deteriorating. (…) It's high time we acted. And fast! We must radically change the course of events. We can, thanks to all the efforts already made. We're not starting from scratch. On the contrary, everyone knows deep down we have to do something, the thousands of voluntary organizations, my predecessors, the known and unknown networks of committed individuals who have for a long time been actively working to this end. By creating this ministry, the only one of its kind in the world, President Sarkozy wanted France to set the example and really take things forward. By bringing round the table representatives of civil society, of trade unions, companies, environmental NGOs, local authorities and the government, she's also breaking new ground. The "Grenelle Environnement”¹ is a first. I must pay tribute to the commitment and excellent way everyone has agreed to tackle the difficult task despite often contradictory, or indeed conflicting positions.

THE MINISTER – A great policy is the sum of small things. It's both a vision and a political will. Firstly, I'm going to meet some symbolic figures in the field of the environment. I've already met Al Gore and Nicholas Stern, author of a key report for the British government on the economic impact of climate change, who is now working with us. Indeed, he's co-chairman of a "Grenelle Environnement” working group. I'm in touch with Barbara Boxer, chairman of the US Senate's environment committee and close associate of Hillary Clinton. And there's also of course the excellent Dr Pachauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. I've also had meetings with my European, South African, Chinese, Japanese and African counterparts and many scientists doing work on climate and biodiversity. 15 years after the Rio Summit raised awareness throughout the world, we all agree that the environment and safeguarding the planet have to be dealt with at government level. It is for France to submit her proposal…

UNEO/FRENCH EU PRESIDENCY

THE MINISTER – In September 2003 and at the Paris conference in February 2007, France proposed at the United Nations to create a "United Nations Environment Organization” (UNEO). Initiated by Jacques Chirac, today I am championing it. 52 States have already declared themselves Friends of the UNEO and are supporting the project. It's very important since today international action on this issue lacks coherence. It consists of a disparate raft of financial resources; there is no structural base for the efforts being deployed, which are too far removed from the challenges facing the planet. I want to transform these totally fragmented organizations into one for world ecological governance. The UNEO would coordinate and strengthen the different United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP) and be a sort of environment WTO. Today, the whole European Union is united. Francophone Africa, Mexico, Morocco and Cambodia have mobilized, as have the Seychelles and Mauritius. A single organization with a media-friendly president capable of conveying a political message would give a tremendous boost to a major challenge: to save the planet!

THE MINISTER – Absolutely. France will officially take over the European Union presidency in July 2008. We'll then be in an ideal position to champion our projects and our UNEO when the post-Kyoto decisions are taken in December that same year in Potsdam. Before that I'll be accompanying President Nicolas Sarkozy to the United Nations conference on 24 September in New York. I'll be at the climate summit in Bali, where the negotiations on reducing greenhouse gases will also be on the post-2012 period.

"GRENELLE ENVIRONNEMENT"

THE MINISTER – Getting a veritable war machine round the table, you have to admit that that's pretty tremendous! No one has gone as far as that. The ecological pact between the main environmental associations under Nicolas Hulot's leadership was a milestone. President Sarkozy has clearly committed himself to establishing a high-level assembly (états généraux) which can set up real action programmes. The six thematic working groups, to which has been added a seventh specifically on GMOs, have toiled away all summer and are scheduled to propose 30 or so concrete and quantifiable measures by the end of October. Once we have these in place my aim is to act, and act fast. As soon as we get the Grenelle conclusions, we shall activate a major national programme. I've already set myself some objectives. In no particular order: I've asked all the ministries to draw up an energy and carbon balance sheet for their departments. Because to convince others, you have to be exemplary. Otherwise, how can you require an effort from the French when you yourself aren't behaving in an environmentally responsible way? I'm advocating videoconferences and reducing unnecessary moving around, even between ministries. Another target: excessive packaging. I intend to call a meeting of the major supermarkets and retail outlets to convince them to reduce the excessive use of plastic packaging, an important contribution to waste and pollution. I also want public-sector and company canteens to go green. In Italy, 40% of the food served in company and school canteens is environmentally friendly. We must work towards this, admittedly gradually, but resolutely.

THE MINISTER – Pollution from transport accounts for 25% of CO2 emissions. This is why I have ordered 3,000 hybrid and/or electric vehicles. We want manufacturers not to build motor vehicles with emissions exceeding 120g CO2/kilometre, 50% less than those currently on the road. At the same time we need to relieve the congestion caused by road haulage and encourage rail transport on the Lyon-Turin line, through the Pyrenees tunnel, on the high-speed Paris-Toulouse-Spain line and the use of road-rail traffic and short sea transport [for road-rail connections and road and sea links]. Also, I've agreed with Italy and Switzerland to submit a joint paper on the status of Mont Blanc. We'd like it now to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. By taking the problems one by one, I know we're going to succeed. In any case, I want to be operational and taking concrete action in less than two months.

(…)

THE MINISTER – I'm asking all the French to come together. Parents, grandparents, teachers, trade unionists, employers, workers, students, actors and journalists, everyone to be involved in taking up this tremendous challenge: to conserve our planet and maintain well-being in our country./.

The "Grenelle Environnement” is a conference bringing together the government, local authorities, trade unions, business and voluntary sectors to draw up a plan of action of concrete measures to tackle the environmental issue. The name "Grenelle” comes from the first conference bringing all these players together which took place in May 1968 in the Rue de Grenelle.