According to the NGO Oxfam, 26 of the 50 fundamental rights, including the right to health, the right to education, and the right to decent housing, are directly threatened in France due to the State’s negligence in terms of adaptation to climate change.
State has failed to adapt to climate change, says Oxfam
In France, climate change adaptation policies have long been neglected, leading to significant economic losses: 120 billion euros since 1980, calculated the NGO Oxfam. The first adaptation plans, launched in 2011 and then in 2018, were insufficient, lacking resources and concrete implementation: labor law, as well as health and social infrastructure, are not adapted to current challenges. In addition, the measures that are adopted are often triggered in response to disasters rather than anticipated. For example, it was necessary to wait for the fires in Gironde and Landes to increase the Civil Security budget and the historic drought in Mayotte for a “Marshall Plan” to be announced. This reactive approach does not allow us to effectively prepare for future climate disasters.
Oxfam also believes that the French state is playing a double game by investing in unsuitable projects and supporting policies that aggravate climate risks. Around 50 billion euros are invested in initiatives that do not take into account adaptation needs, the NGO calculated. Moreover, contradictory policies, such as public support for fossil fuel companies and the stimulation of land artificialization, undermine necessary adaptation efforts. These actions show a lack of coherence and ambition in the fight against climate change.
How will you potentially be impacted by the consequences of climate change?
Take the test with our Adapto’score pic.twitter.com/vI85qt56dj
— Oxfam France (@oxfamfrance) July 15, 2024
Ile-de-France: 62% of the French population is exposed to high or very high climatic risks
In his report, published on July 15, 2024Oxfam devotes an entire chapter to heat waves. The most vulnerable populations are particularly affected. The poorest, often living near major roads and having limited access to green spaces, are three times more likely to die from a pollution episode than the richest. Heat exacerbates this pollution, seriously impacting their health. Precarious urban populations, young people and the elderly are the first to suffer from summer energy insecurity, often being tenants with limited capacity to adapt, deplores Oxfam. In Aubervilliers, for example, where 44% of the population lives below the poverty line, the ratio of green spaces per inhabitant is 3 m², well below the 12 m² recommended by the WHO.
The summer of 2023 was the hottest ever measured on Earth, and the fourth hottest in France. The manifestations of climate change are already visible, with a significant increase in heat waves. Before 1990, France experienced an average of two days of heat waves per year; since 2000, this figure has increased to eight per year. In a +4°C scenario, the Ile-de-France region could experience up to 94 days of heat waves per year, exposing 62% of the population to high or very high climate risks.
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