Publications

Europe’s local authorities have a crucial role to play in meeting the EU’s objective for climate neutrality in 2050 and the critical milestones for emission reductions in 2030. They manage important building stocks and transport networks, develop climate strategies, action and investment plans, while engaging stakeholders and citizens in the climate transition. Turning climate policy ambition into reality, local authorities are responsible for implementing a lot of EU’s Green Deal legislative measures. The EU’s high-profile Mission for 100 Climate Neutral and Smart Cities by 2030 recognises this central role with a pledge for leading cities to trace a fast track towards a climate neutral urban future for others to follow. 

A comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the challenge of financing the low-carbon transition at the local level in France. Local authorities have a major role to play in achieving France's 2050 carbon neutrality goals, as set out in the Stratégie nationale bas-carbone (SNBC). Due to their property and responsibilities, they must make numerous climate investments, implement strategies and action plans, and deploy initiatives to mobilise local actors.  

Time to take stock, 4 years after the first experiments   Report only available in French   A momentum for green budgeting is gaining ground within local authorities: In the space of four years, around a hundred of them have embarked on the green budgeting process or have plans to do so. This includes nearly […]

Climate change and ecological planning are taking centre stage in this autumn’s budgetary measures. The public finance programming act, which has yet to be discussed with the Senate, now requires the government to set out a multi-year funding strategy for planning. The finance bill for 2024, which will go through Parliament soon, earmarks an additional €7 billion in transition support for households, businesses and local authorities. This €7 billion does not, however, resolve the issue of financing the climate transition, and in this post we provide an overview of the key climate debates that will take place, or ought to take place according to I4CE, during this veritable marathon budget.

Local authorities have a major role to play in achieving France’s 2050 carbon neutrality objectives, as set out in the National Low-Carbon Strategy (Stratégie Nationale Bas Carbone, SNBC). Due to their assets and areas of expertise, local authorities must make numerous climate investments, implement strategies and action plans, and take measures to encourage stakeholders within their territories. This study aims to estimate the cost of such climate action for local authorities. 

While French local authorities have important levers for adaptation, they will only be able to mobilize them if certain conditions are met at national level: the entire effort cannot rest on their initiative alone. This is what this I4CE's Climate Report shows. There is an urgent need for a discussion on adaptation between the national government and subnational authorities.

According to I4CE's research, to meet European and international commitments made by France to carbon neutrality, French local authorities need to more than double their annual climate-related investments (from €5.5 billion to €12 billion annually), to around 20% of their current total capital expenditure.  

The French government has just published the environmental budget assessment, or ‘Green Budget’ of its 2022 draft budget. Morgane Nicol of I4CE and Michel Colombier of IDDRI offer insights into these exercises, which are becoming more popular in many countries and local authorities. They highlight that the environmental budget assessment does not dispense with an Ecological Transition Strategy. Instead, […]

For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues.

For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues.

For local governments, it is when expenditures are debated that it is possible to question them and to channel them towards the climate transition. That’s why I4CE and its partners co-constructed a common and shared methodology to assess a local budget according climate issues.

I4CE and its partners make available, free of charge, to interested local authorities a methodology to evaluate local budget under the prism of climate issues. It is a transposition of Green Budgeting approaches, such as the one carried out on national French budget, to the budgets of local authorities.

June 2019, the heat wave that affects France and part of Europe takes centre stage. However, we should be less and less surprised by this type of weather event which, with climate change, is becoming more and more common. To see this, take a look at the ClimatHD portal put online by Météo France to disseminate the main climate projections in France.