The French President Emmanuel Macron’s office has said a draft energy and climate law due to be presented to French cabinet ministers today has been postponed so that it can be reworked with more ambitious environmental goals.
The proposals had been criticised by climate change campaigners and a high-level state-backed economic affairs committee for being too vague on some targets, including an aim for France to be “carbon neutral” by 2050.
Reuters Newsagency reports President Macron has sought to take a lead on the global stage in the fight against climate change.
President Macron has pushed environmentally friendly policies during his roughly two years in office, with mixed success.
However, some of his plans, including an aborted bid to raise fuel taxes, have stirred a backlash among voters at home, sparking a wave of protests.
The French government later delayed plans to implement the steep taxes on diesel fuel and petrol as part of Macron’s effort to reduce emissions.
He has vowed, however, to press on with green policies, while trying to balance this push with measures to help lower-income households or others who might be affected by extra costs.
The draft law is meant to provide a broad framework on climate goals, laying the ground for subsequent, more precise commitments, including on how France will cut its reliance on nuclear energy.
The reworked bill will include a more detailed outline of France’s target for reducing greenhouse gases, the President’s office said.
The bill will still be on track to go to the lower house of parliament to be examined by politicians in June, the president’s office added.
