DIJON: François Rebsamen intends to green the “concrete” schoolyards
“For ecology to be something shared by popular circles, it absolutely must bring them purchasing power”, declared the mayor of Dijon, this Thursday, August 25, while visiting schools being renovated. .
“The climate emergency is there”, declared François Rebsamen (PS, Progressive Federation), mayor of Dijon, while visiting this Thursday August 25, 2022 schools under construction as part of the “Educational Ambition 2030” plan accompanied by 75 million euros over ten years.
The mayor of Dijon thus claimed “a sort of marshall plan for our schools”: “we have to use these credits as best as possible to fight against global warming and allow these children to go to school in the best conditions.
“We are going to start by developing, improving and revegetating schoolyards. Some schools are now completely concreted so it is absolutely necessary to transform them: revegetate, plant and allow a project to be developed with the teachers, the children themselves”.
Acting on purchasing power so that working-class categories “take hold” of ecology
“Dijon is the first ecological city in France. It’s a city that is really concerned about fighting global warming by no longer emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, by obviously reducing our energy consumption and then by presenting new sources of energy that are clean energies. This will be the case with buses and hydrogen-powered household refuse collection vehicles which will be in operation in the next 5-6 years. This will be the case with the heating network which today protects nearly 55,000 inhabitants and which guarantees them heating costs that are much lower than otherwise. We act in all directions”, he developed.
The mayor insisted on the savings induced by the connection to the urban heating network: “for ecology to be something shared by the working classes, it absolutely must bring them purchasing power”. If it’s to penalize them, it won’t work. For people to be able to seize it, it has to be a plus for them”. A third biomass boiler room is under consideration.
Objective of carbon neutrality in 2035
For the claim of the town as “the first ecological city in France”, the first city councilor relied on the “three times twenty”: “the commitment that we had made for 2020, that is to say 20% less greenhouse gas emissions – it’s already achieved –, 20% energy mix – it’s already achieved –, and then, we haven’t reached that yet but we’re going to do it, reduction in energy consumption.
“The objective is to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035 – that’s tomorrow –, it’s a strong commitment that we are making,” he underlined.
“Dijon is already very vegetated”
In connection with the dewatering of schoolyards, the mayor defended the greening of the town: “Dijon is already very green”. “Dijon is the city in France with the most square meters of green space per inhabitant. It must be remembered because there are smear campaigns being carried out on housing construction, but housing is needed at the same time to allow those who need it to be able to find housing – everyone in the city and not only to the wealthiest – and then, at the same time, we must also take into account climate change.”
“Thank you Europe! »
Some projects are financed entirely from the City’s budget, others benefit from one-off grants – such as those from the water agency – and still others are supported within a broader framework such as RESPONSE where funding from the City, the Region, the State and the European Union.
In this case, François Rebsamen said “thank you Europe! by visiting the Buffon school group which, after renovation, has produced more electricity than it consumes.
“It is first of all a municipal priority, in all the cities of France, but our municipal finances do not allow us to do everything alone so it is a call for projects which are co-constructed with communities according to their competence, in this case the Region for aid to [l’isolation]France for major energy renovation projects for buildings (…) and Europe, which is focused on innovation”, indicated the mayor of Dijon.
Regarding the European scale, François Rebsamen has mourned the price of the Green Capital, Dijon having come second for the 2022 edition, behind Grenoble, administered by the ecologist Éric Piolle (EELV). The place on the podium and the possibility of displaying the “European Green Capital” sticker seem to be enough for him. “We learned how to win, so now we will go to other competitions and we will win,” he said.
“The end of abundance for those who overuse it”
François Rebsamen also bounced back on Emmanuel Macron’s proposals concerning an “end of abundance”: “There are two ways to react to this statement. The first is the one I heard, held by the NUPES, it is to say ‘no but, why does he say that, there are nine million poor people in this country, etc.’. Yes, there are people who are in difficulty today in the country and we are doing everything to help them in our municipalities and at the national level as well. This miserabilism is not right today”.
“We must consider that this must be the end of abundance for those who overuse it and who abuse it. For those who are well off, very well off, they have to participate in the collective effort. I took that for good measure. I now await concrete decisions. We must overtax those who are the richest. Do not hesitate. Total Energies must also participate in the effort through the excess profits, that they be redistributed for the benefit of the most disadvantaged,” he added.
The mayor finally summed up his point on the notion of abundance: “Energy sobriety, of course, we have to monitor that, but today the fight against global warming is a whole. We must stop with the gigantism of these cruise ships which produce more pollution than a million cars. Everyone must do their part, but especially those who have the most means to do so”.
Proposed by Jean-Christophe Tardivon