France: 'We must consider the effect climate policies will have on the poorest' • FRANCE 24

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]We will all agree that we shouldn't waste energy, but one of the key issue we have in France and in many other countries is that the tax policy on electricity is the same as it is on gas, which means that you cannot differentiate electricity and gas. And yet, obviously, the climate impact of the consumption of electricity and of gas in France is completely different because of the decarbonized electricity mix. So, we need to face this issue of tax policies. And yes, we also need to consider the effect that climate policies will have on the poorest. And I think one of the reasons that justified the current backlash against ecological policies is the feeling, the impression that a lot of those policies were unfair or were perceived as inequitable. And indeed, they also they sometimes gave the impression that they'd be designed in Parisian apartment by people who had no car and people who had plenty of money to go to the look to buy local groceries without taking into consideration the fact that people outside the cities were dependent on their car, they couldn't afford a heat pump or to renovate their home. And I think this distributive element is absolutely key if we want to succeed with the climate and energy transition.