To face the economic and social crisis linked to Covid-19, the Occitan Region wished to rely on a recovery plan and a “Green New Deal”. The latter is a regional version of the vast investment plan, launched by the European Union, in decarbonated energies aimed at stopping global warming while promoting social justice.
Context and objectives
The “Green New Deal for Europe” movement aims to provide the institutions of the Union, in particular the European Investment Bank, with an economic, technical and legal framework for the conduct of major investments in strategic infrastructures and economic activities with a significant impact in the fight against climate change and the management of its consequences.
In addition to meeting the requirements of climate change and the preservation of ecosystems, the Green New Deal for Europe offers solutions to guide these investments so that they have an impact in areas such as employment, health, education, the cost of living and public services.
This “Green New Deal” is therefore a first on the scale of a region in Europe and aims to give impetus to a new development model, which was already in its early stages before the Covid crisis.
“We have two major objectives: to stop hyper-metropolization, and to have a development model that consumes less energy, buildings and agricultural land”, Carole Delga, President of the Occitanie Region (Gazette de Communes, July 17, 2020).
Terms of the mission
The approach is inspired by the Citizens’ Convention on Climate Change and the success of this democratic process, which has made it possible to place citizens’ expectations and proposals at the heart of a complex social debate and to include their experience in public decision-making. The Citizens’ Climate Convention resulted in 149 proposals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030, 146 of which were taken up by the Government.
One hundred inhabitants’ representative of the Occitanie region (13 departments) were thus drawn by lot. They will meet in two three-day sessions in September, then on a final day in early October to share their proposals.
As for the Citizens’ Convention for the Climate, the members of the convention will deepen the subjects of their choice, within the framework of regional competences. They will be able to exchange freely, in the plurality of their opinions, and their debates will be enriched by external reflections and contributions, by hearing from outside personalities.
The animation of this deliberative process is ensured by Missions Publiques and Eurogroup Consulting with the objective that the 100 participants can advance together in their work, have access to plural information, and collectively formulate their measures.
A regional vote will be organized in October 2020 so that the “Green New Deal” enriched by the decisions of the Citizens’ Convention for Occitanie will be submitted to the vote of the elected representatives of the Region before the end of the year.
