Local authorities are spending more and more on the ecological transition, but are far from meeting France’s climate objectives. This observation was made by the Institute for Climate Economics (I4CE), which published its “Panorama of climate financing for local authorities” on Friday 13 September, amid the controversy over the slide in public finances. The resigned government accuses local authorities of being largely responsible. “Sixteen billion euros” unplanned expenditure, stressed Thomas Cazenave, the outgoing Minister Delegate in charge of public accounts. “Totally misleading figures”replied André Laignel, president of the Local Finance Committee.
However, according to I4CE calculations, municipalities, departments and regions would have to invest an average of 19 billion euros per year in the ecological transition until 2030 in order to meet the country’s climate commitments. A significant effort, since the sums dedicated to this issue amounted to “only” ten billion euros in 2023, according to experts’ estimates. “Local authorities are investing more and more in the transition, they must continue to do so.sums up Damien Demailly, deputy director of the institute, before outlining the squaring of the circle. There is an incompatibility between the divestment strategy requested and the planned investments. »
For eight years, communities have been gaining momentum on climate issues. In 2017, they spent €5.7 billion, in 2022 €8.3 billion, and therefore around €10 billion in 2023 (out of a total investment of €77.3 billion). But the effort in the coming years still promises to be significant in order to reach the average of €19 billion. In 2022, I4CE experts predicted that the annual allocation should reach €12 billion. Since then, local authorities, like the State, have lagged behind, inflation weighs on costs and, above all, France has adopted a new objective of reducing gross greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, compared to the 1990 level.
“We are not covering the needs, there is still effort to be made”says Aurore Colin, I4CE specialist in financing the transition to a low-carbon economy, although she points out that this estimate is quite conservative. The agriculture, biodiversity, waste, water and sanitation sectors are not included in these calculations.
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