Grégory Oliveira Dos Santos is certainly one of 150 residents chosen by lot to take part within the Citizen's Conference for the Local weather. This adept of the speculation of collapse, nevertheless, is throwing himself headlong into discovering an answer to scale back greenhouse gases, “in a spirit of social justice.”
Gregory Oliveira Dos Santos within the hedges of his backyard, in Thorigné-Fouillard. | MARC OLLIVIER / WEST FRANCE
Grégory Oliveira Dos Santos, 36, lives in Thorigné-Fouillard, close to Rennes. This electrician is father of two kids of 6 and a couple of years outdated is certainly one of 150 residents drawn to take part within the citizen convention for the local weather. At mid-point, he tells us the way it works and the way it feels.
Have been you already delicate to the safety of the setting?
I imagine within the concept of collapse (the collapse of our civilization) for nearly ten years so I’m delicate to that, sure, even when I don’t vote for a very long time. Emmanuel Macron, it's not my cup of tea both. However I used to be completely satisfied to be taken to the conference as a result of I feel that we are able to nonetheless attempt to do one thing for the local weather and that France may lead by instance in growing a extra sustainable agriculture or changing into a frontrunner in power renewable.
How are you organized to take part in these six working weekends, together with Fridays, in Paris?
I work as an electrician in a giant firm, which welcomed this very nicely and left me just a few Fridays of availability. Colleagues had been additionally variety sufficient to switch me. My household helps me, we had already modified the way in which we devour. However relations informed me: “You’ll serve the federal government to do inexperienced washing.”
How did you expertise the primary two classes?
I went to the primary session with a priori however I used to be very pleasantly stunned. All of the residents current had been listened to, even the smallest voice. I’m within the group “to feed”, which considerably destabilized me originally as a result of as an electrician, I’ve extra management over the topics associated to the energies. However engaged on a subject that I can’t management permits me to be taught, and we get lots of specialists to tell us on the topic earlier than debating in smaller teams and highlighting proposals.
What’s your place on a potential return of the carbon tax?
We determined that we might discover different options. Now we have not completed figuring out which of them however there are different technique of taxation. I need to have the ability to go house with out being “hit” by my neighbors. We’re due to this fact engaged on methods to seek out cash, as a result of we should put lots on the desk to save lots of the local weather, with out impacting the French, in a spirit of social justice.
Do you assume your proposals will actually be applied by the federal government?
I have no idea, we'll see in the long run. I can’t be reassured till the legal guidelines are handed or the decrees are handed. However, I really feel that we’re taken critically and that the work methods are uninteresting. We invite the specialists we would like. The final time, a participant wished to ask the FNSEA union. So I stated I wished somebody from Greenpeace to stability. We additionally had shows from the Institut Nicolas Hulot, or the director of System U.
Do you now really feel invested in a mission?
I do my finest and above all, I need to talk on this citizen conference for the local weather. As a result of even on the Amap (Associations for the upkeep of a peasant agriculture) close to my house, it didn’t inform them something! If we determine, for instance, to go a citizen referendum, will probably be essential for individuals to be told in order that it’s prone to work.
I additionally organized a citizen café with one other participant from Douarnenez. We thought that 20 individuals would come, we completed at 80! The method of the conference was defined and the targets of the Paris settlement had been reviewed. Ultimately, we spent 1:30 to reply individuals's questions.
The residents' conference for the local weather, what’s it?
Assigned by the President of the Republic, these 150 citizens drawn have for mission to Outline measures to attain a discount of a minimum of 40% in greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2030 (in comparison with 1990) in a spirit of social justice.
Their legislative and regulatory proposals
will then be submitted, both by referendum, by the vote of the Parliament, or by direct regulatory software.
Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th of November, Grégory is in Paris for the thirde task of labor out of the six, earlier than a rendering of their proposals in January 2020.