France has a public consultation on reducing carbon emissions
French president Nicolas Sarkozy is keeping his pre-election pledge for a ‘green revolution’ in France. The first stage is a massive consultation exercise using an internet questionnaire and public meetings around the country. The consultation will not decide policy, but it will directly influence policy. There are of course critics of the president that are calling this a publicity stunt, but the fact is the president is doing something constructive and bringing the public into the process of reducing France’s carbon emissions. The public are basically being asked whether they want to save the planet. They are also being asked to voice their opinion on specific policies. For example, they are being asked if they would accept a 10kph speed limit reduction, given that this measure alone can save 1.8 billion tonnes of carbon emissions a year.
Some of the more contentious questions being put to the people are if they would be happy to pay more for their fruit and vegetables by increasing the amount of land used for organic farms, if they would be happy to pay around £14,000 to fully insulate their homes and if they want GM crops in France. Pity our government chooses to ignore public opinion on the major issues that affect us all. I’m sure many people would say no to GM crops given the choice.
