Climate change policy from the perspective of the constitutionalization of politics: the context of the Fifth French Republic

The paper deals with climate change policy in France as an area which is increasingly subject to legal regulation at various levels. Due to the strategic and far-reaching actions aimed at climate protection being designed by political actors, this policy can be treated as a relatively new phenomenon that goes beyond traditional environmental protection policy. Moreover, specific actions promoted as part of policies aimed at protecting against undesirable climate change are often the subject of political controversy. This, in turn, generates the need to build strong arguments to strengthen the position of supporters of this type of protective measures. The author argues that the above-mentioned circumstances related to shaping the framework of a relatively new area of political activity create a favorable context for the intensification of processes referred to as the constitutionalization of politics. It seems that new areas of political action need particularly strong argumentation. Such arguments can be provided by the constitution itself as a piece of legislation with which ordinary laws must comply. In particular, the constitutional rights and freedoms of the individual, including the right to live in a clean natural environment, may become an important point of reference. In the case of France, such a constitutional document is The Charter for the Environment of 2004, which has become – as an element of the so-called bloc of constitutionality – part of the constitutional order itself. On the other hand, during the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, steps were taken to constitutionalize protection against climate change as one of the basic constitutional principles. Such actions can be considered as an attempt to secure a specific policy through a clearly defined and dynamically shaped constitutional axiology.