ENVIRONMENT

Finally, telling the French the truth means telling them – even if not everyone is happy about it – we are moving from a world of abundance to a world of scarcity. I.e. moving from a world in which natural resources are used as if they were inexhaustable to a world where their impending exhaustion will be a matter of daily concern.…

The French will have to produce in another way, consume differently. They will have to learn to keep on striving to economize the now rare resources which can no longer be wasted.

Pollution and global warming threaten the planet’s future. Everyone is going to have to make efforts, change their behaviour, pollute less.…

In tomorrow’s world, the polluter-pays principle will apply everywhere. If we don’t apply it, we will bequeath to future generations a world in which life is impossible.

While there’s a need to tax investment less, tax labour less, penalize effort and success less and tax clean products less, we must, on the other hand, tax pollution more.

Using the tax system to address the environmental challenge is essential if we want to encourage radical changes in behaviour.

While in the present situation where so many French face a reduction in their purchasing power we have to rule out increasing the price of staples, I want to say how much I believe that the “bonus-malus” system (3) is a good one. The experience with cars has been particulary conclusive with 500,000 "bonuses" paid out in eight months, which have massively increased the demand for more environmentally-friendly vehicles. The extremely strong incentives in the "bonus malus" system is speeding up the process of changing consumption patterns by years; we’ll have to extend it to other products. There will be full consultation on this. It will be done gradually. But it will be done. It’s a promise. Just as I solemnly promise that all the conclusions of the Grenelle Environnement will be implemented.…

I believe in sustainable growth.…

And implementing the Grenelle Environneme means a fourfold increase in the number of dedicated lanes for public transport vehicles (such as buses and trams). It means building 2,000 more kilometres of high-speed rail track. We are very proud of the European capital of Strasbourg. But when it takes us so many years to get the TGV to Strasbourg, let me tell you, that doesn’t enhance our country’s image. If we wanted Strasbourg to be the capital of Europe, then we had to build the TGV Est faster than we did, this is the decision which Fran?ois Fillon, Jean-Louis Borloo and I have taken.

Implementing the Grenelle Environnment also means renovating all social housing and public buildings to make them energy efficient.…

Faced with a crisis, there’s always a choice between two attitudes: there’s the one which consists in keeping one’s head in the sand, waiting for it to pass, waiting for growth to come back, since it will. And then there’s the one which consists – and this is the policy we’re going to pursue – in taking advantage of the crisis and making it an opportunity to go ahead with the reforms which have been delayed too long in our country, which our country needs and will enable it to gain the most from the recovery.…

I want us to develop massively the research programmes into the new energy sources – because we’ve got nuclear power doesn’t mean we needn’t be involved in new sources of energy. We need a new source of energy and nuclear power. We’re going to invest massively in clean technologies, in the new transport systems such as the electric car. We’re going to speed up the replacement of our nuclear power stations by new generation power stations. We’re going to get the public transport infrastructure programme under way as fast as possible. And this will give work to our businesses. I want to see us start looking into a major project to modernize public transport infrastructures in our major towns and cities, where the situation has often become critical.…