France Proposes Major Reform of Ecological Governance with New SGTE
France's Senate proposes the SGTE to enhance ecological governance and improve inter-ministerial coordination.
Key Points
- • Proposal for a new SGTE to replace the existing SGPE
- • SGTE aims to improve coordination among ministries
- • Criticism about potential weakening of the Ministry of Ecological Transition
- • Reform seeks to centralize funding and reduce redundancies.
The French Senate has introduced a significant proposal to reform the country's ecological governance structure, aimed at improving the effectiveness of environmental policies. Led by Christine Lavarde, a member of the Les Républicains party, the proposal includes the establishment of a new body named the Secretariat General for Ecological Transition (SGTE), intended to supersede the current Secretariat General for Ecological Planning (SGPE).
Lavarde highlighted that the reform is a response to ongoing issues regarding coordination among various ministries involved in ecological governance, which have hindered France's progress toward achieving its environmental targets. The proposed SGTE would have enhanced authority and a broader mandate, along with greater resources than the SGPE, which is critically limited with only 30 personnel working within it.
While the proposed reform aims to streamline operations across different ministries and minimize redundancies, it has been met with skepticism from some quarters. Notably, the president of the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME) has voiced concerns that the new structure could weaken the Ministry of Ecological Transition and may prioritize political strategies over administrative efficiency. Despite this criticism, Lavarde assures that the central roles of the Ministry will remain intact while the SGTE will focus on execution and coordination of ecological policies.
This comprehensive reform seeks to create a more unified and responsive framework for managing environmental governance within France, addressing long-standing coordination challenges among governmental agencies.