Pascal Canfin on the Green Deal: ‘Job done’

Hailed by supporters as ‘Macron’s climate trump card’ and dismissed by opponents as ‘greenwashing’ for the French president, European Parliament Environment Committee Chair Pascal Canfin defends his record in a pre-election interview with Euractiv.

“The job has been done,” says the French member of the European Parliament (MEP) in response to a question about President Emmanuel Macron’s call for a ‘regulatory pause’ on the Green Deal.

“With the rules of the game laid down during this term of office, we are in a position to achieve the targets set for 2030, in terms of both climate and industry”, Canfin said, even though several Green Deal laws have yet to be adopted.

A former Green MEP (2009-2014) and president of the World Wildlife Fund, Canfin allied with Macron in 2019 when the president wanted to take advantage of the ‘green wave’ sweeping across Europe.

“The heart of the matter is now the industrial deployment of clean technologies, thanks to private investment supported by public authorities, in the sectors of decarbonisation, artificial intelligence and supercomputers”, he added.

Nuclear power on the campaign trail

With just a few days before the EU elections, the ‘Besoin d’Europe’ list (Renew) backed by Macron is trailing Raphaël Glucksmann’s Socialist list (S&D) in the polls.

Reacting, Canfin calls for the president’s actions and programme to be “proudly carried forward”, including a revival of nuclear power.

Before defending nuclear, Canfin remained vague on the issue for a long time. This was most evident in the question of whether to include technology in the EU’s green taxonomy, which aims to facilitate investment in areas related to sustainable development.

“I’ve changed”, Canfin said on CNews on Wednesday, May 29, when asked about his position on nuclear, which he now considers “part of the solution”.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nuclear power has polled favourably with the public, particularly with the Socialist electorate. For Glucksmann and the socialists, this form of energy is merely a ‘transition’ towards 100% renewable energy, while Macron has made it one of the pillars of his energy policy.

“We won’t be able to move forward without nuclear”, stresses Canfin.

The MEP has previously stated that Teresa Ribera, the Spanish minister for ecology and a member of the Spanish Socialists (S&D), would make a “very good” European commissioner for climate issues. Recent statements witness Ribera’s public difficulties with French energy policy and nuclear power in general.

“Energy policy does not depend on one man or one woman alone”, replies Canfin when asked about this tension.

“There will be a political line to develop within the European Commission, within which the place of nuclear power will have to be discussed”, he explains, insisting that it will be necessary to hold discussions with the German Greens during the next term of office, who, according to the latest polls, will be the largest national delegation in the European Green group.

“Since you are realistic and pragmatic on many issues in Germany, you should also be realistic and pragmatic on nuclear power and stop clinging to the battles of the past”, is his message to the ‘Grünen’.

Lower French emissions

According to Canfin, Macron is also credited with reducing greenhouse gas emissions in France by 5.8% between 2022 and 2023, which is compatible with the Green Deal and the Paris Agreement climate targets.

However, according to environmental associations such as the Climate Action Network, this reduction in emissions is partly linked to a fall in economic activity. “Even without the cyclical effects, we are on the right track”, the MEP insists.

Rejecting his opponents’ ‘greenwashing’ label, Canfin replies, “When you see the results of our action, the debate is quickly settled.”

In contrast, he “does not understand the choice of voters who join Glucksmann” since he “voted for neither the climate law [to reduce the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions], nor the recovery plan, nor the migration and asylum pact”.

If he is not being used to ‘greenwash’ the president’s achievements, could he instead be Macon’s ‘climate trump card’? “My political identity is clear and my action on climate issues, I think, is recognised by analysts” Canfin firmly replies.

[Edited by Donagh Cagney/Alice Taylor]