French energy activists, Association négaWatt, have released their plan for France to reach nearly 100% renewable energy by 2050 in English. The move is a dramatic step by the French NGO to draw the attention of world leaders to what a real energy policy for France would look like. Doing so in English is like a call to the barricades.
Energy policy is a hot topic in France—along with a searing heat wave this summer—in the run up to COP 21 in Paris this fall.
Recently the Assemblée Nationale passed–after much debate—a severely watered down energy policy dubiously dubbed the transition énergétique after Germany’s Energiewende or energy transition.
As with Paris’ recent installation of two small vertical axis wind turbines inside—yes inside—the Eiffel Tower, the legislative move is more smoke and mirrors than a commitment to a new energy policy. French political leaders are grasping at straws in hopes that world leaders and French voters alike won’t notice the bait and switch. In the meantime the French government continues to dismantle a once-successful renewable energy program.
To make their voice heard more universally than in France alone, Association négaWatt steps into this milieu with a more aggressive proposal in English.
- Executive summary of the négaWatt scenario (pdf)
- Presentation of the scenario in 40 slides and graphics (pdf)
