Un discours de Benoît Lechat

Benoît Lechat discusses the need to broaden the social appeal of ecological policies in Europe, critiquing the 'liberal-productivism' that dominates the EU and the 'ascetic' or 'expertocratic' image of Green parties. He analyzes the electoral stabilization of Green parties following the May 2014 European elections, noting gains in Sweden and Austria but declines in France and Belgium. Using the theories of Etienne Balibar, Alain Lipietz, and Ulrich Beck, Lechat argues that climate change must be treated as a strict social issue rather than a niche environmental one. He specifically reflects on the decline of the Belgian party Ecolo, attributing its loss of voters to problematic coalitions with the PS, mismanagement of photovoltaic green certificates, and resistance to wind energy development in Wallonia.

• Following the May 2014 European elections, Green parties showed a mixed performance: they experienced "hausses appréciables en Suède et en Autriche", "reculs très nets en Belgique et en France", and a "stabilisation à un niveau très décevant en Allemagne".
• The current systemic crisis in Europe is driven by "libéral-productivisme", a combination of neoliberalism and productivism where the market is seen as self-regulating and growth is viewed as the only way to resolve social conflicts.
• Ecological political discourse often fails to expand its social base because it remains trapped in a "posture prophétique, sacerdotale et expertocratique" and relies too heavily on the "deficit model", assuming that providing information alone will change behavior.
• Ulrich Beck suggests that climate change transforms the issue of inequality and makes daily life "cosmopolite", necessitating that climate be removed from the "niche « environnementale »" and treated as a strict social issue.
• The Belgian party Ecolo suffered a significant loss of voters after 2009, partly due to its coalition with the PS, which was viewed as "clientéliste et affairiste" by middle-class voters in Wallonia.
• Ecolo's image was further damaged between 2012 and 2014 by the "explosion d’une bulle de certificats verts pour le photovoltaïque" in Wallonia and significant "résistances énormes" to wind power development in the same region.
• The failure of the Copenhagen climate summit undermined the basis for European exemplary leadership in climate negotiations, necessitating a change in strategy for the COP 15 in Paris.

APA

Lechat, B. (2014). Un discours de Benoît Lechat. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/un-discours-de-beniot-lechat/

Chicago

Lechat, Benoît. Un discours de Benoît Lechat. Green European Journal, 2014. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/un-discours-de-beniot-lechat/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Lechat |first1=Benoît |title=Un discours de Benoît Lechat |publisher=Green European Journal |date=21 August 2014 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/un-discours-de-beniot-lechat/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{lechat2014discours, author = {Lechat, Benoît}, title = {{Un discours de Benoît Lechat}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2014}, month = aug, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/un-discours-de-beniot-lechat/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }