Protected areas, air quality … In the Alps this Wednesday 12th February 2020, Emmanuel Macron should offer solutions in favour of ecology and biodiversity.
With an Ecological Defense Council on Wednesday 12th February 2020 and then an excursion on the Mer de Glace on Thursday, Emmanuel Macron wants to make an impression by announcing measures in favour of ecology and biodiversity, the stakes of the next elections.
“After the retreats, it’s regal and the ecological”
“I tell you, the end of the quinquennium, after the pensions, it is regal and the ecology,” he summed up Tuesday evening before members of the majority, under strong pressure with the examination of the pension reform.
The special committee of the Assembly had to end its work Tuesday evening, without having managed to sweep the whole text – an unprecedented situation.
Eager to turn the page, the head of state will begin by meeting on Wednesday his fourth “Ecological Defense Council”, which must confirm the objective of increasing protected areas to 30% of the territory, against just over 20 % currently.
“The ecological defence council will increase protected areas to cover 30% of our territory by classifications as natural reserves, national parks, regional natural parks,” said the Head of State in an interview with Dauphiné Libéré and to the daily newspapers of the Ebra group.
Accompanied by Elisabeth Borne
He will then go to Chamonix, where he will arrive around 7 p.m. to take the little train that goes up to the Montenvers Refuge, a hotel located at 1913 meters above sea level, overlooking the Mer de Glace.
Accompanied by his Minister Elisabeth Borne (Ecological Transition) and his Secretary of State Emmanuelle Wargon, he will discuss global warming and alpine biodiversity during a dinner with experts like Jean Jouzel, Bernard Chevassus-au-Louis or Camille Parmesan.
Conseil de défense écologique : « On donne la possibilité aux agents de l’Etat d’être vraiment des acteurs de la transition écologique », explique Elisabeth Borne, ministre de la Transition écologique et solidaire pic.twitter.com/YJnJdx6ugz
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) February 12, 2020
Protection of the Mont-Blanc massif
Thursday morning, he will descend the staircase of 500 steps which allows you to visit the famous glacier. Its spectacular decline in recent years offers a striking image of the impact of global warming in France.
The Head of State will then return to Chamonix, where he must announce measures to protect the Mont-Blanc massif and its ecosystem, threatened by overcrowding and incivility from visitors.
Mont-Blanc, which rises to 4,809 m, will be further protected by the entry into force of a prefectural order of natural protection, which will strengthen the rules on attendance, especially in summer.
Emmanuel Macron was alerted in September by an open letter from the mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex. “Mr. President, taking care of the forests in the Amazon is very good. Ignoring what is happening on Mont-Blanc and allowing disrespect to continue is not tolerable, ”he wrote.
“Small steps”
In recent summers, several incongruities or degradations have enamelled the climbs of Mont Blanc : the landing of a tourist plane not far from the summit so that two Swiss mountaineers only have to climb the last meters, a Briton who had mounted a rower but failed to descend it, Latvians who had tried to climb a 10-meter mast to float their flag there…
But these few cases, publicized through social networks, concern only a handful of the approximately 20,000 people who are trying to climb.
The authorities have also decided to make reservation in a refuge compulsory , to combat wild bivouacs , which are prohibited on this classified site.
Emmanuel Macron is also awaited by local associations on air quality problems in the Arve valley , the crossing point for very many heavy goods vehicles.
“Credibility” in “danger”
“I cannot prohibit trucks from passing,” he said in his interview with Dauphiné Libéré, advocating a European policy of renewing the fleet of trucks.
“If I impose this renewal only on trucks in the region, I kill them, because trucks will come from Spain or Romania. The question is how we oblige all wheelchair users in Europe to renew their fleet.”
In January, environmental defence NGOs denounced, like Nicolas Hulot before slamming the door of the government in 2018, the “big gap” between the “small steps” of the government for the climate and speeches by Emmanuel Macron.
Greenpeace said it suspected the executive of putting “more energy to protect the interests of certain industrialists than to defend the general interest”.
“Emmanuel Macron has posed as a climate champion on the international scene. However, the poor results at the national level jeopardize its credibility and that of France ”, regretted the NGO members of the Climate Action Network (RAC).
