BECOME A WITNESS OF THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY IN FRANCE!
For its first anniversary, the Case of the Century is launching a call for testimonials on the effects of climate change in France..
One year after the launch of the Case of the Century, there is no State reaction and no decision commensurate with the climate challenge.And yet, there was no shortage of scientific reports reminding us of the urgency to act in 2019… Still waiting for the formal response of the State to our arguments, we intend to continue the mobilisation, open the eyes of the State and urge it to act.
Citizens are called upon to act as #TémoinDuClimat (ClimateWitness) in order to map the impacts of climate change in France. Everyone can testify! Because we are all witnesses or direct victims of climate change… You can declare yourself #TémoinDuClimat on social media or go to the l’Affaire du Siècle website to give your testimony on the map.
You too,share the changes you are witnessing (rising temperatures, extreme weather events, coastal erosion, disturbed plants and animals…), and describe how you are being impacted. Your testimonies will constitute an unprecedented map of the climate situation in France.
Together, let’s alert public authorities of the seriousness of the situation so that the State responds to our case and, above all, takes action. We want to show them that citizens all over France are already suffering from its inaction. There is strength in numbers: it is indeed the 2.3 million signatories who have given so much power and visibility to the Case of the Century. So the more we are, the more our message will be heard!
We are organic farmers and we observe nature in our daily life. The drought has given way to floods. Insects are becoming rare. I am afraid for our agricultural project, for our income, for the future of our children.
Héloise, 47 ans, Caubon-Saint-Sauveur
In 20 years, I’ve witnessed three storms. For me, climate change – with the increase in the frequency of natural disasters, rising sea temperatures, and increasing coastal erosion – is already here.
During the hearing of the appeal of the city of Grande-Synthe before the Council of State today, the public rapporteur was clear: the State must, from now on, take new measures to reduce French greenhouse gas emissions, and the Council of State must exercise control over the effectiveness of these measures.
If the highest administrative court follows Stéphane Hoynck’s recommendations, the judges should order the State to take, within 9 months, « all appropriate measures to curb the curve of greenhouse gas emissions produced on the national territory in order to ensure its compatibility with the objectives »set out in the law. [1]
« The conclusions of the public rapporteur are obviously very encouraging. I am particularly happy that the first climate action led in France by the city of Grande-Synthe and its former mayor, Damien Carême, to have the illegality of the government’s refusal to act recognized can, if the High Assembly follows its public rapporteur, lead to a historic decision that will thus allow the Council of State and our country to be inscribed in the global history of climate justice. »
Corinne Lepage, lawyer for the town of Grande-Synthe and its former mayor, Damien Carême, co-founder of Huglo Lepage Avocats
« The cities welcome the conclusions of the public rapporteur. In November, the Council of State had asked the State to justify the measures taken, and the elements produced show that these measures are not up to the climate challenges. Since then, German, Dutch and Australian judges have followed the same dynamic, asking the States concerned to be more ambitious and effective in their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. If the public rapporteur is followed, it will be a great victory for all and the State will be made to face its responsibilities, thanks to the mobilization of the communities directly concerned. » Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Régis Froger, lawyer for the City of Paris and Grenoble
« We can only welcome the conclusions of the public rapporteur. In February, the Administrative Court of Paris recognized that the State was outlawed. The role of justice is to protect society. Judges have an unprecedented opportunity to reaffirm their essential role in democracy and to defend our fundamental rights by holding the State accountable. If, as we hope, the Council of State follows its public rapporteur, the organizations of the Affaire du Siècle will be there to ensure that the judges’ decision is effectively applied, and that France respects its climate commitments. »
Guillaume Hannotin, lawyer representing The Case of the Century
The government’s arguments on the Climate Law are not totally convincing
The public rapporteur did not give a direct opinion on the climate bill, thus respecting the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. However, by asking theCouncil of State to issue an injunction to act, it is sending a strong signal to the government: the climate crisis requires more ambitious actions to put France back on the right track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
While the High Council for Climate, the National Council for Ecological Transitionand the Economic, Social and Environmental Council have judged the bill largely insufficient, the State had made it its main line of defense. The cities of Grande-Synthe, Paris and Grenoble, as well as the organizations of the Affaire du Siècle, have also demonstrated, with supporting evidence [2], that the measures provided for in the Climate-Resilience Law, which is currently being examined by the Senate, are far from being up to the challenge.
Final decision expected in a few weeks
The decision, expected in two to three weeks, will be the culmination of a procedure launched in January 2019 [3], by the city of Grande-Synthe, and supported by the organizations of the Affaire du Siècle (Notre Affaire à Tous, the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, Greenpeace France, Oxfam France), as well as by the cities of Grenoble and Paris.
The appeal brought by the Affaire du Siècle, in which the administrative court ruled that the State’s inaction was illegal and caused ecological damage, should be judged in the coming months.
These appeals are part of a growing global movement for climate justice: in Germany, for example, the courts recently ordered the government to revise its climate plan, which was deemed insufficient to reduce the country’s greenhouse gas emissions after 2031. Noting the decision, the German government immediately presented new, more ambitious climate targets.
REGISTER FOR THE PRESS CONFERENCE FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF THE PROCEEDINGS The Council of State is expected to render its decision within two to three weeks. Corinne Lepage, Damien Carême and the organizations of the Affaire du Siècle will hold an online press conference immediately after the publication of the decision.Please registeron this linkto participate. You will receive a text message with the zoom link on the day of the decision.
Note to editors
1] France is committed to reducing its emissions by 40% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels (Article L110-4 of the Energy Code as amended by the 2019 Energy-Climate Law).
[2] A study produced by Carbone 4 and submitted to the file by Affaire du Siècle shows that « it is certain that the measures adopted or being considered by the state, particularly in the Climate and Resiliency Bill, will not achieve the overall goal of a 40% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared to 1990. »
[3] En novembre 2020, dans une décision dite “avant dire droit”, le Conseil d’Etat avait affirmé que les objectifs climatiques de la France sont contraignants. This decision broke with the interpretation made by successive governments that France was not bound by the objectives set out in the law.
Since its creation, Notre Affaire à Tous has been developing the first global climate case, urging the French State to respect its environmental and climate commitments. The first act of this case was launched on December 18, 2018 in partnership with the Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme (Foundation for Nature and Mankind), Greenpeace France, and Oxfam France. It is the Case of the Century.
This case over the French State’s climate inaction aims to have the court recognize the State’s general obligation to act in the fight against climate change to protect the rights of French citizens from the impact climate change has on their lives. With this legal initiative, Notre Affaire à Tous wants to remind the State to respect its own commitments and to maintain pressure on authorities to take immediate, concrete, and ambitious action for the climate.
Citizen movements have proved to be successful in the Netherlands, Pakistan, and Colombia. National jurisdiction reaches out to citizens to protect them and to create a new climate, social, and democratic model. We are part of a true worldwide movement that renews and invents new climate and environmental laws.
Our Objectives ? Our goal is for the court torecognize the French State’s responsibilityand order the Prime Minister and relevant ministers to adopt all necessary measures for putting an end to the State’s failures and repair the damage suffered. Through this, we want :
To participate in a global movement of legal, social, and civic struggle for the rule of law and the accountability of public authorities
To makeFrench courts recognize the duty of protection and vigilance incumbent on the French State and its responsibility to adopt a real climate strategy
To urge the French State to adopt all necessary measures for putting an end to its failures and repairing the damage suffered
To achievea legal decision in France that would create a precedent and contribute to the global movement of awareness and desire for community and citizen involvement
How ?
We are using all the means we can to give more weight to the case against the French State, brought before the Administrative Court of Paris, to put an end to climate inaction.
This involves both legal and mobilization efforts.
To advance climate justice through both the court’s decision and the case law that will follow, Notre Affaire à Tous is working alongside other Case of the Century organizations to ensure the case makes it to the end of the legal process.Find here all the steps of the legal action of the Case of the Century.
Notre Affaire à Tous is confident thatthe law can be a tool for citizen mobilization. Along with the Case of the Century group, NAAT’s objective is to build and support a community of citizens impacted by climate change while waiting for a government response. Thus, we want to leverage our power to make the State aware of the real consequences of climate inaction for French people. We will carry out these actions to map the impacts of climate change in France in order to alert public authorities of the seriousness of the situation and to make the State respond to our legal recourse, and—above all—to make the State take action.
Convinced that the law can be a lever for citizen mobilization, the Affaire du Siècle has launcheda mapping of the impacts of climate change in France in order to build and sustain a community of citizens affected by climate change. The objective is to alert the public authorities on the seriousness of the situation and the concrete consequences for the French people of its climate inaction, and especially that it acts.
State inaction is illegal ! The state is obliged to respect its national, European and international commitments and to protect its citizens’ human rights. However, France is far from reaching its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. This is why we are suing the state for climate inaction. Summary motion, supplementary brief, State’s response, find here all the steps of the legal procedure to understand everything about this unprecedented appeal !
We are calling on organizations of all kinds and sizes to join us, including environmental and solidarity groups as well as trade unions and intermediary organizations.
We are also calling on citizens to join us by signing our petition and supporting us in the legal proceedings. Because it is an effective action, and climate justice is a people’s aspiration, this is in our common interest. The more people join us, the more powerful we will be to demand that the State take action.
Join those who are already helping us and support the Case of the Century!
State inaction is illegal ! The state is obliged to respect its national, European and international commitments and to protect its citizens’ human rights.
Climate justice is inseparable from social justice ! The French have understood it well, through the crisis of yellow vests. The victims of climate change are now visible. Maurice Feschet and Jean-François Périgné suffer a loss of income from their work linked to the deterioration of the climate. Magali Duranville deplores the endangering of the health of the French, their family lives, their homes. Citizens have clearly understood the widening gap between words and deeds, and that nothing is really being done today to counter the current climate crisis. Yet France is the European country most affected by the impacts of global warming. But the costs of the transition fall on the poorest.
All means of action have been used: individual actions, citizen mobilizations, boycotts as well as non-violent resistance. But neither the big polluters nor the States have answered the citizens and scientists calls for climate action.
Today, France is not keeping its commitments, even those it has set for itself. If the French respect the law, the States also have an obligation ! The State is responsible, it must act directly, and regulate the activity of polluters.
December 18, 2018: launch of the Case of the Century
On the 18th of December 2018, Notre Affaire à Tous, in partnership with the Fondation pour la Nature et l’Homme, Greenpeace France and Oxfam France, initiated « l’Affaire du Siècle« , the climate litigation case against the French State. Its aim is to have a legal judge recognising the general obligation of the French State to act in the fight against climate change, thus protecting French citizens’ rights against its dangerous impacts. The petition of support was signed by more than 2 million people in just a few weeks.ne ce recours a recueilli en l’espace de quelques semaines plus de 2 million signatures.
March 14, 2019: filing of the summary request at the Administrative Court of Paris
On February 15, 2019, the Minister of the Ecological and Solidary Transition rejected the request of NGOs Notre Affaire à Tous, Greenpeace France, Oxfam France and the Fondation Nicolas Hulot pour la Nature et l’Homme. On one hand, they were seeking compensation for the damages caused by the State’s faults in the fight against climate change and. On the other hand, they were urging the State to put an end to all its failures concerning climate issues. On Thursday, March 14, 2019, they filed their lawsuit tackling the State’s inaction over climate change via a « summary request » before the Administrative Court of Paris.
May 20, 2019: Filing of the additional brief to the Court
Following the summary request filed for the Case of the Century before the Paris Administrative Court on March 14, the lawyers of Notre Affaire à Tous, the Nicolas Hulot Foundation for Nature and Mankind, Greenpeace France and Oxfam France filed an additional brief detailing all the arguments of the climate litigation case against the French State for climate inaction. This filing officially launched the beginning of the trial period.
Nearly sixteen months after the start of the case, the State finally responds to the arguments filed against it by Notre Affaire à Tous, the Nicolas Hulot Foundation, Greenpeace France and Oxfam France, for the Case of the Century. In its 18-page defense brief, the State rejects the arguments presented by the co-plaintiff organizations and denies the deficiencies pointed out, even though they had, in the meantime, been confirmed by the French High Council for the Climate. This response comes at a time when two other organizations – the Fondation Abbé Pierre and the Fédération Nationale d’Agriculture Biologique – are presenting their arguments in support of the Case of the Century to the court.
September 4, 2020: The Case of the Century files its reply to the State’s arguments
Our lawyers filed our « reply brief » (i.e. our counter-arguments) on September 4, 2020 and 100 testimonies from the « Climate Witnesses » platform launched by the Case of the Century in December 2019.
In the reply brief, we remind the court that the responsibility of the State is indeed engaged, by demonstrating that it failed to establish an effective legal framework and to implement the human and financial means to ensure its respect.. The State has a crucial role to play, as a regulator, an investor and a catalyst at all levels. The Case of the Century also demonstrates that by failing to meet its targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency and renewable energies, it has itself directly contributed to the climate crisis: between 2015 and 2019, France emitted approximately 89 million tons of CO2 equivalent in excess of its targets – the equivalent of two and a half months of emissions for the entire country (at the pre-Covid rate).
January 14, 2021: Hearing of the Case of the Century
The hearing of the Case of the Century will take place before the Paris Administrative Court on January 14, 2021 at 1:45 pm, more than two years after the launch of this unprecedented legal action against the State’s climate inaction. More than two years after the launch of this unprecedented legal action against the State’s climate inaction. The courts could force the state to act.
At the hearing on Thursday, the public rapporteur will present his conclusions, i.e., the decision he recommends the court to take. The lawyers of the Case of the Century, who demonstrated the State’s faults, will then take the floor to recall our arguments :
The State has an obligation to protect us in the face of the climate crisis, yet it is far from respecting its commitments ;
France has systematically exceeded the carbon ceilings it had set for itself ;
The target of 23% renewable energy in 2020 is not respected ;
The delay in the energy renovation of buildings is such that the pace should be multiplied by 10 by 2030 ;
Greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector have fallen by only 1.5%, whereas the target was -15% !
The State, as a defendant, is then also supposed to take the floor. It is not supposed to develop new arguments. It should be noted that in the Grande-Synthe case, in November, the State did not wish to express itself. The Court is expected to render its decision about two weeks after the hearing, at the end of January.
February 3, 2021: The Court condemns the State for climate inaction
More than two years after the incredible mobilization that carried the Case of the Century, the administrative court of Paris has rendered its decision: we have won a HISTORICAL victory for the climate!
For the first time, the courts have recognized that the State’s inaction on climate change is illegal, that it is a fault, which engages its responsibility. This is a major progress in French law !
In its ruling on the Case of the Century, the AdministrativeCourt of Paris recognizes the responsibility of the French State in the climate crisis and deems its failure to comply with its commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions illegal. The State is also found responsible for « ecological damage ». We hope for an even more historic judgment in the spring: the State could be condemned to take additional measures to combat climate change.
The Case of the Century is also involved in the legal action of Grande Synthe, the city that attacked the state before the Council of State in November 2018. In February 2020, the Case of the Century filed a « voluntary intervention », meaning it added its arguments to the legal case. On November 9, 2020, the Conseil d’Etat issued a landmark decision: it recognized the binding nature of the climate goals enshrined in the law, as well as the trajectories for achieving them, and gave the state 3 months to prove that it can achieve the trajectories it set for itself. The Case of the Century is producing new scientific evidence that shows that the projected GHG reduction trajectories are not credible without radically ambitious climate policies.
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