In 2021, a number of events marked environmental news at French, European and international level. Below is a non-exhaustive reminder. And because 2022 promises to be just as eventful, we've put together a selection of issues that will be making the headlines and could have a major impact on companies.
In France, several laws and regulations have introduced significant changes
The AGEC (Anti-Waste for a Circular Economy) law has been gradually coming into force since January 1, 2021, and aims in particular to move away from disposable plastic, better inform consumers, fight against waste and for solidarity-based re-use, act against programmed obsolescence and produce better.
With regard to disposable plastic, the free distribution of plastic bottles in establishments open to the public has been banned since the beginning of 2021, and since January 1, 2022, the plastic over-packaging of fresh fruit and vegetables weighing less than 1.5 kg has also been prohibited. With regard to obsolescence, sellers of electrical and electronic equipment have been required to display a reparability index for 5 product categories since early 2021: washing machines, smartphones, laptops, televisions and lawnmowers.
The postponement of the tertiary sector decree to September 2022, which requires owners and occupants of buildings with a surface area in excess of 1,000 m2 to declare their energy consumption and progressively reduce it (-40% by 2030, -50% by 2040 and -60% by 2050). The first deadline for declaring consumption has been postponed from September 2021 to September 2022.
The Climate and Resilience Act was passed following the creation of the Convention Citoyenne pour le Climat, without taking up all its proposals. The law covers a wide range of subjects, including transport (ban on air travel if the alternative is to take the train in less than 2.5 hours, introduction of low-emission zones in major conurbations, etc.), housing(ban on the rental of "thermal flats" from 2025, support for households in thermal renovation, etc.), consumption(experimentation with environmental labelling via a carbon score, support for bulk sales, tighter controls on fossil fuel-related advertising, etc.).
The European Union has also put forward proposals to strengthen its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and beyond.
The European Commission presented its Green Deal in the summer of 2021, a set of proposals covering the energy, transport, agriculture and tax sectors, with a view to reducing GHG emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared with 1990 levels). By way of example, theCommission mentions the creation of a new carbon market - or "rights to pollute" - for the distribution of fuels (road transport and heating) or the extension of the existing carbon market to include maritime transport and accelerate the reduction of air transport emissions.
At the international level, the Cop26 conference held in Glasgow at the end of the year had a number of salient features. Over and above the media frenzy that usually surrounds COP(Conference of the Parties, the international climate conference organized by the UN), there were a number of key points included in the Glasgow Pact:
France: Simplified GHG assessment for companies that received stimulus funding
Private companies that have received financing under the "Recovery Plan" will have to publish a simplified greenhouse gas emissions report by December 31, 2022.
From September 2022 (as mentioned above), companies will be required to report on their energy consumption (tertiary sector decree).
Green taxonomy: the European Commission is proposing to include nuclear power and gas in the taxonomy, the repository of activities conducive to the European Union's environmental objectives, thus qualifying them as "green" investments. Although this measure has been contested by certain political parties and NGOs, the European Commission argues that these two types of energy could play a role in facilitating the transition: although both present risks and limitations (waste management for nuclear power and greenhouse gas emissions for gas), these two energy sources emit less greenhouse gas than the industry average.
Non-financial reporting, CSRD to replace NFRD? The NFRD directive on non-financial reporting, which has been translated into French law by the introduction of the Déclaration de performance extra-financière (DPEF) since the end of 2017, has limitations pointed out by various stakeholders (insufficient data reported, difficult comparison between companies, etc.). These limitations have led to a review of the text. In April 2021, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), to make changes to the current NFRD, such as:
Internationally, Cop27 will be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, one of the countries most vulnerable to global warming. Finally, the IPCC (International Panel on Climate Change) is finalizing its 6th assessment cycle and will publish its 6th synthesis report in 2022.