Story at a glance
- In response to the anti-government yellow vests movement, French President Emmanuel Macron established the Citizen’s Climate Council.
- In a recent meeting with the CCC, which is made up of French citizens, Macron raised the possibility of adding environmental protection to the constitution.
- The proposal requires a referendum that must be approved by the French government.
Life, liberty and the preservation of the environment? French President Emmanuel Macron proposed adding language regarding climate change and the preservation of the environment to the French constitution, according to The Associated Press (AP).
Macron raised the proposal during a meeting with the Citizen’s Climate Council, a group of French citizens given an audience with the French President in response to anti-government “yellow vests” protests.
“Should we do more? Yes,” Macron said, according to AP.
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The French President has been under pressure to increase action on environmental issues after missing national targets that were set under the 2015 Paris Agreement. Last week, he and other European Union leaders made a deal to raise the continent’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gases by 40 percent to at least 55 percent by 2030.
“We need to keep moving forward, and that work is even more urgent,” said Macron.
The proposed change would include mention of biodiversity, the environment and tackling climate change in Article 1 of the Constitution, Reuters reported. Such a change to the country’s constitution would need to be approved by a national referendum, which would first need to be approved by parliament.
“It will be put to a referendum,” he said, according to Reuters.
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