Emmanuel Macron during his televised address on December 31, 2022. JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP
“Who could have foreseen the wave of inflation this would trigger [par la guerre en Ukraine] ? Or the climate crisis with spectacular effects again in our country this summer? This question, formulated by Emmanuel Macron during his televised greetings on December 31 and suggesting that the current climate crisis is unpredictable, had angered many scientists and members of the opposition. The head of state finally clarified his formulation more than two weeks after his speech in a video broadcast on the evening of January 17:
Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers “Who could have predicted the climate crisis? » : Macron is accused of «decoupling» from ecology
“There is a part of these wishes where I was misunderstood (…) They wanted me to say that I had never actually read an IPCC report [Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat] (…) and that I’m discovering climate disturbances (…) What did I just want to say? Actually it was even faster than expected. »
“As an attack, it’s not very credible,” “we’ve been operating for years,” pleaded the President of the Republic and also confirmed that he wanted to send out “rather an ecological warning”. In this sequence broadcast on social networks, Emmanuel Macron nonetheless pledged to “listen to the critics” and “share the pressure to do more”.
The head of state also announced on Tuesday that “before the end of January (…) an ecological planning council will be held” to “take stock of what needs to be done in the coming years and decades.
Record heat in December
In his wishes to the French, after long passages on pensions and the need to work more, the head of state returned to this issue only once, affirming that the “ecological transition is a battle that we must win”.
The president’s words were immediately perceived by several experts as a symptom of the breakup. “Who could have predicted the climate crisis?” It’s funny, it’s exactly one of my favorite jokes, making fun of politicians who live outside of reality.” had tweeted Gonéri Le Cozannet, geologist and co-author of the latest IPCC report.
“Who could have predicted the climate crisis?” It’s funny, it’s exactly one of my favorite jokes for moq… https://t.co/2CkFDvjfOQ
— Goneri76 (@Gonéri – @[email protected])
Paleoclimatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte echoed Emmanuel Macron’s judgment when she shared documents from the latest IPCC report on the impact of global warming in Europe. “It’s a speech that misses the point of the story. It could have happened in the 1980s, not 2022.” said Franceinfo Magali Reghezza-Zitt, geographer and member of the High Climate Council (HCC).
“It can be embarrassing for some. Above all, he wanted to express what the French were feeling, namely an acceleration of phenomena that even some scientists had not expected at such a speed, as the macronist MEP and former EELV member Pascal Canfin had deciphered. But it would really be a sham trial to conclude that he is unaware of the situation. »
Emmanuel Macron’s formula came at a specific time: during the Christmas holidays, the issue of global warming was once again invited to the media, with monthly heat records being broken in many areas (with average temperatures of 16ºC in the north). of the country and 18°C for the south).
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