As the presidential election approaches, researchers, parliamentary deputies and climate specialists warn that the climate must be brought into the media landscape.
The effects of climate change are now tangible and, in the case of many, irreversible. The inertia of climate phenomena is such that in several years its consequences will be ravaging our ways of living that are incompatible with planetary limits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) sounded the alarm once again on the 28th of February, with even more force than its previous reports.
However, indifference reigns. The voice of the media on this question is inaudible. No IPCC expert has been invited on television platforms to speak about the dizzying impacts awaiting us. The lack of media coverage of the climate is all the more astounding given that we are about to vote in the presidential election, one of the most important democratic moments in France.
The misfortune of the climate catastrophe lies in its time scale.
Of course, the news is dominated by a war bringing historic instability for the European continent. However, the prospect of deadly heatwaves in France by 2050 in the +1.5°C global warming scenario and, in the +3°C scenario, the exposure of over a third of the European population to water shortages and definitive extinction of almost 30% of biodiversity are cause for proactive commitments. The presidential candidates must be asked to set out in their programme the quantified objectives, resources, deadlines and modes of governance that will comply with the established roadmaps.
We have only one request: that between now and the first round debate, the audiovisual media make a voluntary commitment to focus on the climate and biodiversity for 20% of the available time. An interview with a candidate, regardless of party affiliation, must systematically include time dedicated to his or her proposals to meet the challenge we face. Without this requirement for information on climate and environmental programmes, these issues will always remain secondary in the face of an onslaught of news focussed on immediacy. The misfortune of the climate catastrophe lies in its time scale, which is misaligned with a world dictated by instantaneity. Let’s finally take stock of the urgency to act.
*Initiators: Eva Morel, Lola Morel, Anne-Lise Vernières, Jordan Allouche.
List of signatories:
Valérie Masson-Delmotte, senior researcher at the LSCE, Climate and Environment Sciences Laboratory ;
Jean-Marc Jancovici, President of The Shift Project;
Yann Arthus Bertrand, GoodPlanet Foundation;
Alain Grandjean, President of the Foundation for Nature and Mankind;
Gilles Bœuf, biologist;
Arthur Keller, specialist in systemic risks;
Cédric Ringenbach, President of the Fresque du Climat;
Arnaud Gossement, lawyer specialising in environmental law;
Matthieu Auzanneau, Director of the Shift Project;
Corinne Lepage, former Minister of the Environment and lawyer;
Arnaud Schwartz, President of France Nature Environnement;
Eva Sadoun, founder of Lita.co and president of the Impact France Movement;
Delphine Batho, former Minister for the Environment and Member of Parliament;
Benoît Leguet, Director of the Institute for Climate Economics;
Bettina Laville, State Councillor and President of Comité 21;
Maud Lelièvre, President of the French Committee of the IUCN;
Eric Duverger, co-founder of the Business Climate Convention;
Nicolas Dufrêne, senior civil servant and director of the Rousseau Institute;
Fabrice Bonnifet, Director of Sustainable Development at Bouygues;
Dominique Méda, university professor;
Jordan Allouche, founder of Ecolobby;
Lamya Essemali, President of Sea Shepherd France;
Pierre Souvet, President of the Association Santé Environnement France;
Géraud Guibert, President of La Fabrique Écologique;
Jean-Charles Colas-Roy, MP;
Sandrine le Feur, Member of Parliament;
Delphine Bagarry, Member of Parliament;
Jean-Luc Fugit, MP and President of the National Air Council;
Albane Gaillot, Member of Parliament;
Matthieu Orphelin, Member of Parliament;
Aurélien Taché, Member of Parliament;
Marjolaine Meynier-Millefert, Member of Parliament;
Noël Mamère, former Member of Parliament, former mayor of Bègles;
Grégoire Fraty, member of the Citizens’ Climate Convention;
Juliette Nouel, journalist;
Thomas Friang, founder and managing director of the Open Diplomacy Institute;
Frédéric Moncany de Saint Agnan, President of the French Maritime Cluster;
Jean Moreau, Phenix and Impact France;
Philippe Zaouati, Managing Director of Mirova;
Virginie Raisson Victor, co-founder and spokesperson of the Grand Défi des entreprises pour la planète;
Claire Lejeune, environmental activist, member of the People’s Union Parliament;
Pierre-Emmanuel Saint-Esprit, Managing Director ZACK – Manutan International Group;
Sylvain Angerand, Canopée ;
Marine Braud, former special advisor to the Minister for Ecological Transition;
Frédéric Bordage, GreenIT ;
Romain Segond, journalist ;
Raphaël Demonchy, journalist;
Mathieu Hennequin, journalist;
Marion Simon-Rainaud, journalist;
Anne-Sophie Novel, journalist.
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