ECF and KNOCA are pleased to share that an opinion piece by Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF), co-president of the French Citizens’ Convention for the Climate and one of Europe’s most prominent voices on climate governance, has been published in Le Monde, reflecting on the Convention’s legacy five years after its conclusion.
Tubiana pushes back against the narrative of failure that has sometimes surrounded the Convention. She highlights the real, if uneven, impact the process has had on French climate policy: around 70% of the Convention’s 149 recommendations have been at least partially implemented, and 20% of the recommendations have been fully adopted or even strengthened as shown by a recent KNOCA briefing.
But her message is also one of urgency. Tubiana points to recent political decisions, such as the rollback of low-emission zones, the reauthorization of pesticides, and the instability of energy renovation support, as evidence of a worrying shift away from the ambition and fairness that must underpin any credible ecological transition. These developments, she argues, risk deepening France’s vulnerability to social, economic and environmental shocks.
As France approaches a critical period of energy decision-making, Tubiana insists that political leaders should not misread the moment:
“It would be a mistake to believe that public opinion has moved on from climate.”
We need a renewed political commitment to long-term, socially just climate policies, grounded in public will and resilient democratic practice.
The article is available in Le Monde: Read the tribune
Please note: the article is currently only available in French.
