Who are the greenest MPs? Why the Parliamenterre ranking is biased

Who are the greenest MPs Why the Parliamenterre ranking is

We knew the ranking of the most active deputies and the most present in the National Assembly… On May 29 was published, for the first time, that of the deputies most favorable to the environment, Parliamentland. Established by the NGO Acting for the environment, it puts Delphine Batho, ecologist deputy, convinced supporter of degrowth, in the lead. The methodology used is based on the analysis of the vote of some 17 amendments, of various political origins, during the previous legislature, relating to five key bills of the mandate. They include pell-mell the ban on glyphosate or the construction and extension of airports, support for night trains, etc.

A first observation is obvious: choosing the position of elected officials on amendments rather than on bills is indicative of an approach that favors symbols over systemic action. Thus on mobility: while the car is by far in France the mode of transport emitting the most CO2, is it very reasonable to choose as a standard for measuring the environmental commitment of an elected official his position on trains? by night ? Should we spend billions of euros on these or support the millions of French people living in large urban outskirts or in rural areas in the transformation of their daily mobility? Mobility is a complex system, not a juxtaposition of modes of transport: it would have been much more relevant to use the criterion of the votes on the orientation law on mobility which, although very imperfect, nevertheless carries this systemic vision. This choice highlights one of the major problems of political ecology: it is not an ecology of action, but of activism. The symbol prevails over the problem, the noisy claim over the complex solution.

Second observation: the list of amendments chosen gives a large place to prohibition measures, giving credence to the idea that ecology is by nature punitive, draconian and downward. One will look in vain, in the list of accepted amendments, for measures to support research, innovation or promote competition. To take the example of mobility, the competition between TER lines – a measure imposed for a long time by European texts – will improve the daily life of the French much more than all the bans in the world. Where is it written that ecology must rhyme with sobriety rather than with creativity? Why focus on behavioral change, sobriety, arising from a moral posture, rather than relying on the formidable capacity of human beings to innovate and adapt when faced with a crisis, to a problem, to a limit? A curious reversal of history when those who are supposed to succeed, on the political spectrum, to the demonstrators of 1968 who boldly brandished the signs “Forbidden to ban” now have as sole and sad programmatic obsession: to ban…

A final observation: where is the rest of the world in this ranking? Parliament certainly has little weight in international affairs, but the climate issue being global in nature and France having some claim to universality, the absence of any reference to foreign countries is problematic. It is however not surprising. Because the very people who ask the politicians in charge to project themselves into the future in the name of climate dynamics are incapable of projecting themselves into today’s world. We would like to hear them explain to us how to build sustainably to house the 1.5 million human beings who, every week around the world, move to a city to build their lives there. They remain silent because answering this question and advocating decrease are incompatible. “It is better to change your desires rather than the order of the world”, said Descartes. For now, French environmentalists prefer their desire for activism to the demands of public action, their comfort zone, their world of eternal certainties and revealed truths in which nuclear power is the founding enemy, GMOs the evil, and 5G the new monster to fight. It is true that rubbing shoulders with the harshness of the world is a demanding exercise. No doubt they would benefit from talking about it with their German colleague Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz’s Minister of Economy. He will be able to explain to them how we reconcile the announcement of 100% renewable electricity production in 2035 with a recent tour of the Middle East to secure long-term gas contracts. Or not…

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