Cara goes to France - The blog
In December 2021, I headed to France (by boat!) on behalf of the French Ministry for European and Foreign Affairs "Future Leaders Invitation Programme". Each year, the French Ministry invites 75 people from around the world to France to give future leaders from the political world and civil society the opportunity to spend time in France to hold high-level meetings relating to their interests.
I asked to spend the week meeting France's most successful climate policy professionals and learning about some of their innovative programmes, particularly in the areas of food and agriculture, which I feel we can learn a lot from in Ireland. I blogged about those meetings throughout the week. Scroll down to have a look at the topics covered each day and read more. |
Day 0: France by Ferry
In my first post, I explored the climate impact of traveling over land and sea instead of flying. I'm writing from Stena Line's Rosslare to Cherbourg ferry in an effort to keep my carbon footprint as low as possible for this trip. For those that doubt the climate benefit of going over land and sea versus flying, I've done the math for this trip (because that's just how nerdy I am), and it turns out that I've saved a considerable about of CO2 compared to flying even with the added distance...
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Day 1: Urban farming, Smart food and French climate policy
My first day in France with their Future Leaders Invitation Programme was a whirlwind, beginning with a tour of an urban farm and the Smart Food Paris incubation hub alongside Deputy Mayor Audrey Pulvar. After eating my way through Smart Food Paris, I then stuffed myself further with a traditional French lunch and chat with Le Monde’s agricultural journalist, Mathilde Gerard, followed by meetings at France Strategie and the Ministre de la Transition Ecologique – All in an effort to gain further understanding of France’s climate and agricultural policies...
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Day 2: Grandeur, peasants, high councils and high speed
My second day in France started in grandeur with a tour of the French Parliament at the Palais Bourbon and a meeting with Parliamentarian Hubert Julien-Laferrier. Lunch was enjoyed at the Federation Nationale des Syndicats d’Exploitants Agricoles (FNSEA) – the French equivalent of our Irish Farmers Association but with very fancy food! After lunch, I headed on to the Confederation Paysanne, who sees farming as a social and ecological profession and has some innovative ideas for how to transform the food system. I finished the day with the Secretariat of France’s High Climate Council. Since they are a relatively new body and I am a relatively new member of Ireland’s Climate Change Advisoty Council, we had a lot in common and a great discussion about ways of working...
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Day 3: Science and soils and seeds, Oh My!
We’re not in Paris anymore, Toto! Today, I woke up in Montpellier after an exciting high speed train journey last night with my two amazing guides. Following a quick visit to Montpellier's main plaza, we headed off by tram to Agropolis International to meet those responsible for the famous “4 pour 1000” soil initiative launched at COP21. I learned some fun facts about sparkling water, among other things, over a "South-of-France lunch" and then met Dr. Alexandru Milcu at CRNI’s Ecotron facility, where he explained the centre’s role in simulating real world and future climatic conditions to see how different plant species and soil organisms respond to a variety of conditions. From there, we headed to the ARCAD platform – a new research facility that stores and studies hundreds of varieties of seeds for cultivated food and energy crops used in the Mediterranean and tropical regions...
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Day 4: From Fork to Farm
I started Day 3 meeting representatives from the Ministries of Agriculture and of European and Foreign Affairs to check my thoughts about what I’ve learned so far from my week in France. For lunch, I joined the Mayor of Paris’ 12th district, Mrs. Emmanuelle Pierre-Marie, at a local primary school. Over 9,000 students in the district are served hot lunches daily, and.over 70% of the food served is either organic, locally produced or certified as sustainable in some way! After that dose of inspiration, I headed from "fork to farm" to the Pays de la Loire region of France to visit a 150 hectare dairy farm that is part of France’s Low Carbon Farm Initiative...
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Day 5: Occurrence becomes adventure
They kept the best for last! The morning started with a meeting at European Climate Foundation (ECF) with Ms. Laurence Tubiana, a key architect of the Paris Climate Agreement. The last time I was in Paris was for COP21, there was no one more photographed than the “FaFa” of climate negotiations, Mr. Laurent Fabius, so I was thrilled when I found out I was being granted 45 minutes with him in the gilded offices of the Constitutional Council. Even more so when we ended up chatting comfortably for an hour and a half instead! For lunch, I was joined by researchers from France's National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), and finally over to the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), where our conversation focused on biogas. This week, I’ve felt like Cinderella at the ball. How many times in one’s life do we get the opportunity just to learn for the sake of learning on any topic of our choosing without any expectation of outputs or exams?
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