Publications Europe

Climate investment: the French receipe

13 October 2023 - Foreword of the week - By : Ciarán HUMPHREYS

Climate action is a rich stew with many ingredients. From transport to agriculture, construction to forestry, every part supports the whole. The stew would be incomplete without one crucial but rare addition: public investment. Chefs d’état in Paris and Brussels are currently scratching their heads on how best to add this ingredient to the pot. Two hurdles face them: how to invest enough, and how to guarantee that investment over the long term.  In this newsletter, we have translated some of I4CE‘s analysis to better understand what’s going on in the French kitchen, complemented with a dash of a European cleantech investment plan.

 

The French recipe is tackling the question of scale with its latest draft budget, which sees an unprecedented commitment of an additional €7bn for climate investment in 2024. Yet beyond 2024, with the need for investment only increasing, the picture becomes more unclear. Will the benefits be felt at every level of society, and will the government be able to finance this investment in the long term? A sprinkle of long-term perspective is the missing seasoning – which the government’s proposed multiannual investment plan may be able to successfully provide.

 

At the EU level, the stew takes a little longer to bring to the boil. Long-term planning is assured – in the seven-year EU Budget or in multi-annual programs, of which the newly-announced Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) is one. STEP, however, is simply not large enough, with €10bn of fresh investment spread over 4 years and 27 Member States. The European offer could do with some beefing up. President Macron has called for years for a truly European response. Supporting EU initiatives such as STEP offers an opportunity to translate French ambition into European action. With a little creativity in the kitchen, there’s a chance everyone can go home satisfied.   

 

Read the newsletter

To learn more
  • 09/27/2024 Foreword of the week
    The climate transition and local public investment capacity

    Europe’s local authorities have a crucial role to play in meeting the EU’s objective for climate neutrality in 2050 and the critical milestones for emission reductions in 2030. They manage important building stocks and transport networks, develop climate strategies, action and investment plans, while engaging stakeholders and citizens in the climate transition. Turning climate policy ambition into reality, local authorities are responsible for implementing a lot of EU’s Green Deal legislative measures. The EU’s high-profile Mission for 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 recognises this central role with a pledge for leading cities to trace a fast track towards a climate neutral urban future for others to follow. 

  • 09/20/2024 Foreword of the week
    Mario Draghi Sounds the Alarm – Can the EU Operate in Time?

    As we return from the summer break, we begin this new European Union mandate with a sharp sense of urgency. Mario Draghi’s report on European competitiveness has sounded the alarm – the EU’s economic health is deteriorating, and immediate intervention is needed to prevent a ‘slow agony.’ Indeed, the EU suffers from a range of critical conditions – challenges which the newly-announced College of Commissioners-elect, will need to speak to in the Hearings to come. A fragmented Single Market is restricting growth, international competition weakens key industries, and decarbonisation efforts are lagging, as highlighted by the European Climate Neutrality Observatory. These issues demand a swift response. 

  • 09/19/2024
    Making a Success of the Clean Industrial Deal: A step forward for green industrial policy, or another stumbling block?

    A step forward for green industrial policy, or another stumbling block. Context. The world’s largest economies are turning towards green industrial policy to support their cleantech manufacturing to accelerate their decarbonisation, competitiveness, and economic resilience. In this cleantech race, the EU has several disadvantages, including higher costs of energy and labour, a less dynamic investment environment, and the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act and Made in China 2025.

See all publications
Press contact Amélie FRITZ Head of Communication and press relations Email
Subscribe to our mailing list :
I register !
Subscribe to our newsletter
Once a week, receive all the information on climate economics
I register !
Fermer