In his interview with La Libre, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economy and Employment David Clarinval highlights the essential point: focusing on defending our industry and employment, beyond shortcuts and caricatures.
He owns it: he is pro-environment, but rejects naive idealism and the radicalism of slogans. Europe can be proud of its pioneering role in the fight against global warming, but the stacking of rules and constraints ultimately weakens the competitiveness of our businesses. It is not about abandoning ecology, but about injecting pragmatism, nuance and, above all, economic coherence into it.
In a globalised economy, where the United States is drilling flat out and China is increasingly relying on fossil fuels, imposing extra rules on our European businesses risks driving them to produce elsewhere. The result would simply be a shift in CO2 emissions, with no real benefit for the climate and a social cost for Europe.
He points out that Europe itself has recognised the need to act differently: several Green Deal measures have just been “paused” or adjusted, notably the directive on non-financial reporting and the directive on corporate due diligence. These adjustments are meant to foster common sense and efficiency, and to avoid burdening our businesses with unnecessary costs and red tape.
Championing pragmatic ecology, backing low-carbon, affordable energy such as nuclear power, and protecting our markets from unfair competition: this is the path he proposes, respecting European climate ambitions, but without dogmatism.