Yellow Vests Protests Avoidable If Gov't Discussed Policies With People - Greenpeace Head

The yellow vests protests in France could have been prevented if government decision-makers had consulted their citizens about policy changes, Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace, said at a press conference on Friday.

KATOWICE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 14th December, 2018) The yellow vests protests in France could have been prevented if government decision-makers had consulted their citizens about policy changes, Jennifer Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace, said at a press conference on Friday.

"I think the thing that has been recognized here and it should have been recognized in France and around the world, is the importance of having social interests and people in from the beginning of policy-making. That was an avoidable situation in France, if you had had policymaking that made sure the most vulnerable and poor populations are not the ones that are asked to pay more," Morgan at the COP24 in Poland.

Regarding the issues of the conference, Morgan said that the financial burden of tackling climate change was being addressed at the COP24 through a discussion on a "just transition."

"There is plenty of wealth in this world that can pick up those costs. Where I have seen it here, most importantly, are in the discussions around just transition and in the importance to have social interest and social issues, rather than interests, developed and brought in from the beginning rather than at the end," Morgan noted.

France has seen a wave of mass protests since mid-November, when the so-called yellow vest protesters named after the obligatory attribute of French drivers took to the streets to rally against rising fuel prices and a planned hike in tax on diesel and carbon fuels. The yellow vest rallies in France have been marked by violent clashes with police officers, who have used tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters.

Rising fuel taxes and prices are, in particular, a part of the French government's efforts to speed the transition from fossil fuels to fuels that will not be warming the planet in order to help implementing the 2015 Paris climate deal.

The deal that went into force on November 4, 2016 aims to keep the increase in average global temperature at below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.