Vive La France! French Electorate Rejects Climate Denial and Commits to Progressive Action

The world can breathe a sigh of relief as the country that hosted COP21 has recommitted itself to continue its climate leadership. On Sunday May 6th, three-quarters of French voters rejected the anti-globalization, anti-immigration, anti-climate rhetoric of the far-right.

Emmanuel Macron won the French election by a landslide (66 percent), beating xenophobic candidate Marine Le Pen and her National Front party. In the French election globalization defeated populism, a more open worldly vision for France defeated the closed, nativist view of the far-right.

Climate change appears to have been a key issue that contributed to Le Pen's defeat. She was forced to change her stance on the issue because unlike her counterpart in the US, French voters would not go along with her climate denial. In 2012 Le Pen said: "I am not sure that human activity is the principal origin of this phenomenon." In an attempt to capture voters she recently revised her position adopting the Republican line saying, "I am not a climate expert, I think that human activity does contribute to a proportion, which I can’t measure, to this phenomenon."

Environmental Legislation in Ontario in the Wake of the Liberal Majority

A number of environmental bills have been stalled by the provincial election in Ontario and opposition from the Progressive Conservatives. The June 12 provincial elections saw Ontario dodge a bullet by resisting the Progressive Conservatives. Led by Kathleen Wynne the Liberals managed to win a majority. Wynne assumed the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party in January 2013. She was more progressive and green focused than her scandal laden predecessor Dalton McGuinty. The leader of the Ontario NDP brought down the minority Liberal government due to her refusal to support the budget. While Tim Hudak and the Progressive Conservatives were predictably reluctant to support environmental legislation.

Video - Ontario to be the First Place in North America to End Coal Power

Once North America's largest user of coal power, the province of Ontario, Canada's manufacturing heartland, is moving towards being the first place in North America to eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. The province is also introducing the Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act to ensure the public health and climate change benefits. Despite the economic concerns expressed by some, when all the costs are tallied, doing away with coal power is the right way to go. Kudos to Ontario for the kind of forward thinking leadership that will help lead the continent and the world towards a cleaner tomorrow.