What could possibly go wrong with this?
France Senate amends constitutional bill on climate change and biodiversity
The French Senate on Monday voted to amend a government-sponsored bill proposed by President Emmanuel Macron to fight climate change and preserve biodiversity.
The climate bill seeks to change the constitution to state that France “guarantees environmental protection and biological diversity, and combats climate change.†That key phrase originated as a result of a recommendation from a convention of 150 randomly-selected citizens last year.
The National Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of the initiative in March.
The Republican-controlled Senate, however, voted to remove the key term “guarantee†from the phrase, citing concerns that the word implies environmental concerns would take precedence over other constitutional obligations.
Instead, the Senate approved a text saying that France “preserves the environment as well as biodiversity and acts against climate change under the conditions laid down in the Environment Charter of 2004.â€
Pulling “guarantee” out was a pretty big deal, but, it won’t protect the citizens from a huge jump in government control of their money, their lives, and their freedom if the amendment passes. French citizens should be thinking very hard about the implications of giving their government, which already has lots and lots of power, even more. Haven’t they had revolutions over that kind of governmental authority?
If passed, the bill would codify French domestic policies regarding green commitments in the fight against climate change by setting legal limits to advertising by fossil fuel companies and mandating “sustainability scores†on food packaging, among other things.
And French citizens will soon wonder why their cost of living has skyrocketed, why they’re paying even more taxes, why government is telling them even more how they can and will live their lives. How’s that saying go “the road to Hell is paved with good intentions”?
In order to pass, three-fifths of the citizens vote for the amendment, which must be agreed upon by the Senate and the National Assembly, once those government bodies agree on the wording. I guess we’ll see if all those citizens will vote against their freedom.
