Agronomist Jean-François Soussana, a specialist in soil health and climate change with over 20 years of experience contributing to IPCC reports, has been appointed as the new president of the High Council for Climate (HCC).
This independent body is responsible for evaluating France’s climate action. The appointment was announced in a decree published Thursday in the Official Journal.
Transition from First Mandate
Soussana, who serves as Vice President of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), succeeds Franco-Canadian climatologist Corinne Le Quéré.
This marks the first renewal of the 12-member council, established in 2018 by President Emmanuel Macron, whose initial mandate was set to expire on June 24th.
Since 1998, Jean-François Soussana has been a significant contributor to the work of the IPCC, the UN-mandated climate experts.
Notably, he served as a lead author for the group assessing climate change impacts in the IPCC’s fourth report, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
Expertise in Soil Health and Global Change
Born in 1959, Soussana holds a doctorate in plant physiology and has conducted research on grassland ecology and carbon and nitrogen cycles affected by climate change since the 1980s. He later led a research laboratory on ecosystems and global change at INRA, which became INRAE in 2020.
Since then, he has served as Vice President of this prestigious research institute, overseeing international programs on agriculture, soil, and climate change.
Soussana is also one of the 15 experts on the European Scientific Advisory Board, a counterpart to the HCC at the European Union level.
This experience played a role in his selection, as he was already a member of the HCC since its inception and actively involved during the first mandate.
New Members Join the Council
The HCC welcomes four new members: Selma Mahfouz, Inspector General of Finance and co-author of a landmark report on financing the ecological transition; Paul Leadley, Professor of Ecology; Gonéri Le Cozannet, a specialist in coastal erosion, both of whom have contributed to the IPCC; and Diane Strauss, Director of the NGO Transport & Environment in France.
Eight members, including climatologist Valérie Masson-Delmotte, engineer Jean-Marc Jancovici, and architect of the Paris Agreement Laurence Tubiana, have been reappointed to this French climate think tank, which operates under the Prime Minister’s office.
The HCC released its sixth annual report on June 20th, titled “Staying the Course on Decarbonization, Protecting the Population.” This report provides a comprehensive assessment of France’s progress in addressing climate change and offers recommendations for further action.