SUMMARY:
The French
"yellow-vest"
protests started
in late 2018,
over higher
gasoline taxes.
The yellow‑vest protests
spurred President Macron
to put 150 "random" members
of the public in charge of
his environmental policy.
What could go wrong ?
Macron set up the panel
to divert responsibility
away from himself,
and appease the
yellow-vest protesters.
But the result was radical
policy proposals from
the "Citizens’ Convention
for the Climate", that would
further damage the weak
French economy, facing
the COVID-19 disaster.
DETAILS:
The 150 members
of the public chosen
"at random", were not
really chosen at random,
because so few people
were interested.
More than 250,000 people
were contacted, using
a random telephone number
search, and asked if they
wanted to join the convention.
Most refused.
But not the strong
believers in a
climate change crisis.
150 people
agreed to join
the Citizens’
Convention
for the Climate,
after being told
that they would be
paid €86.24 a day,
and have their
expenses
reimbursed.
Mr. Macron started
this climate change
consultation group
in an attempt to appease
yellow-vest protesters,
who rioted for weeks
in late 2018.
Many yellow-vests
portrayed themselves
as victims -- claiming
the government was
skewed against
provincial workers,
who were unable to
influence policy
like urban dweller
were.
Amid fears
the 2018 protests
could develop
into a revolution,
Mr. Macron agreed
to a direct democracy,
forming a Citizens’
Convention for
the Climate.
When the convention
first met in October,
Mr. Macron asked
for their proposals
to enable France
to cut its greenhouse gas
emissions by at least 40%
in 2030, compared with 1990.
He promised the proposals
would be implemented
immediately, or put before
parliament in legislation,
or submitted to the people
in a referendum.
But with COVID-19 damage
to the economy, Mr. Macron
will be under intense pressure
by business leaders
to renege on his promise.
I don't see why
the "yellow vests"
would approve of
the climate panel’s
suggestions.
Because they seemed
to be provincial people
who needed their cars
to get to work ,
and were fed up
with being dictated to
by the metropolitan
elite.
Citizens’ Convention
for the Climate Plan:
-- A ban on advertising
to prevent consumers
driving long distances
to buy products
they do not need.
-- Closure of
out-of-town
hypermarkets
to encourage
shopping locally
-- Canceling the 5G phone
network because it uses
30% more electricity
than previous iterations.
-- Prohibit the sale of cars
that emit more than 110g
of CO2 per kilometer by 2025
— far below CO2 emissions
by most existing vehicles,
-- Television, radio, internet
and press advertisements
for products generating
high levels of CO2
would also be banned,
and those not banned
would have to carry
the wording:
“Do you really need this?
Overconsumption harms
the planet.”