France’s High Climate Council Slams Inadequate National Climate Policies in Annual Report

HCC Issues Critical Warning Over Weak Emission Reduction and Adaptation Measures France’s High Climate Council (HCC) released its annual report on July 9, warning that the country’s current climate policies fall short on both carbon emission reduction and climate adaptation fronts. The council urges France to immediately scale up climate action to counter the adverse consequences of anthropogenic global warming.

Frequent Heatwaves Expose Insufficient Climate Readiness The HCC points out that recurrent heatwaves in recent years demonstrate that climate change impacts are growing more severe, while France remains inadequately prepared to handle related risks. Established in 2018, the body’s core responsibility is to assess the French government’s climate policies and put forward improvement proposals. It calls for a comprehensive upgrade in the scale, coverage and implementation pace of all climate adaptation initiatives nationwide.

Expert Warns All National Systems Are Built for Obsolete Climate Conditions “We are entering a dangerous climate zone. Our infrastructures, territorial planning, ecosystems, as well as the governance of economic and social activities, were all developed and planned based on climatic conditions that no longer exist,” Valérie Masson-Delmotte, independent expert of the HCC, stressed at the press conference held on Tuesday, July 7.