35.5°C in Paris, 41°C in Lyon, 43.2°C in Carcassonne… In the opinion of many experts, these heat peaks recorded last summer in several cities in France are a precursor to taste of what frequently awaits us in the future, with one question remaining: are we ready to face it? For the Court of Auditors, whose annual report is published this Tuesday March 12, the answer seems obvious: we are not yet.
And for good reason, French cities have only “lately” adopted strategies for adapting to climate change, provided for in particular in the “territorial climate-air-energy plans” (PCAET). Developed by intermunicipalities of more than 20,000 inhabitants, this planning is, moreover, far from unanimous. In their report, the Sages of Rue Cambon narrow down strategies that would “only partially” respond to the issues identified.
Paris, city “most exposed in the event of a heatwave”
According to the Court of Auditors, the plans are based on incomplete diagnoses which, moreover, do not sufficiently take into account the effects of climate change. Some even lack scientific data.
In this vitriolic report, the budgetary watchdog targets public authorities, and calls on the State to clearly define the “steps to take” and the “objectives to achieve” in order to facilitate the emergence of “structural transformations”. “The State does not correctly play its role as a strategist, which consists of setting clear objectives and defining a trajectory to achieve them”, believes our colleagues from World the president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici.
Especially given the numerous manifestations of climate change experienced by the French in recent years – heatwaves, fires, floods – solutions are more than ever expected. Even more so at a time when Paris has just been crowned with the title of European capital “most exposed in the event of a heatwave”.
Veganizing, the solution?
On the other hand, the Court of Auditors welcomes the efforts of French cities in terms of greening, a method whose climatic effectiveness no longer needs to be demonstrated. However, there is still a long way to go to reach the objective set by the European Commission in 2023: that of reaching “at least 10%” in cities by 2050.
Achievable objective, according to the budgetary watchdog, who is counting on a total budget of 3.6 billion euros to plant 2.4 million trees across all urban communities in France. The annual cost of the operation amounts to some “360 million euros”. An effort deemed “sustainable” by the rue Cambon institution which, however, does not lose sight of the importance of mobilizing “private land”.
Among the other major challenges highlighted by the Court of Auditors: that of avoiding “mal adaptation” almost acts as a priority. Because the multiplication of the installation of individual air conditioners which reject hot air outside would, for example, only increase the effects of urban heat islands. This is why the Court urges public authorities to study, among other things, the option of deploying urban cooling networks.