A Paris court has found the French government guilty of not upholding its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, according to reports.
Four NGOs backed by two million citizens had filed a complaint accusing the French state of failing to adequately address climate change in a landmark ruling that climate campaigners are calling the “case of the century,” according to France 24.
The court convicted the French government of not upholding its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, and ruled that the state has displayed “non-respect of its engagements” to combat global warming.
“This is an historic win for climate justice,” said Jean- François Julliard, the executive director of Greenpeace France. “The decision not only takes into consideration what scientists say and what people want from French public policies, but it should also inspire people all over the world to hold their governments accountable for climate change in their courts.”
Juliard said the judgment would finally push the French state to act against the climate emergency. “No more blah blah,” the Guardian reported.
The four organizations are Greenpeace France, Oxfam France, the Nicolas Hulot Foundation and Notre Affaire a Tous (Our Shared Responsibility).
The Paris Agreement, signed five years ago, aimed to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5C.
As punishment, the courts ordered the French state to pay the NGOs one euro in a symbolic move that acknowledges their claims, France 24 reported.
Former President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal, the first nation in the world to do so, with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo maintaining that the U.S. was on track to achieve the goals even without membership,
“Our results speak for themselves,” Pompeo wrote in a statement as the U.S. began to withdraw from the agreement. “U.S. emissions of criteria air pollutants that impact human health and the environment declined by 74% between 1970 and 2018. U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions dropped 13% from 2005-2017, even as our economy grew over 19%.”
“President Joe Biden committed to rejoining the Paris Agreement, signing an executive order on the day of his inauguration to that end. Biden then promptly canceled the Keystone XL Pipeline, sacrificing over 11,000 jobs in the process, “ according to Fox News.