French Courts Ruled On Major Climate Lawsuits Against The State

Two major climate change lawsuits filed against the French State recently prompted French administrative courts to clarify the extent of France's obligations to adopt measures to comply with its greenhouse gas ("GHG") emission reduction targets as well as the scope of the government's liability for the failure to meet said targets.

On November 19, 2020, the Conseil d'Etat, the French Supreme Administrative Court, issued a partial ruling in the Grande-Synthe matter (link to the decision in French). In this matter, the town and the mayor of Grande-Synthe filed a claim seeking an injunction against the French government to take the necessary measures to reduce its GHG emissions in accordance with its commitments both under the Paris Agreement of 2016 and under various European and French regulations. The Conseil d'Etat dismissed the claimants' right to directly invoke violations of the Paris Agreement as an international treaty, but sustained that the Paris Agreement