In 2007, Nicolas Hulot told candidates in the
presidential election that he would stand as a candidate if ecology were not one of the main themes of the election. Some polls estimated his support at around 15%. In response to his announcement, five of the twelve candidates in the election, including
Nicolas Sarkozy, signed his
Pacte écologique (ecology pact), stating that ecological issues would be central to all future political decisions.
2011 Europe Écologie-Les Verts primary in 2012 On 13 April 2011, while speaking in
Sevran,
Seine-Saint-Denis, Nicolas Hulot announced his candidacy in the Europe Écologie-Les Verts primary for the 2012 French presidential election. The announcement came a month after Hulot's calls for a referendum on nuclear energy following the
Fukushima nuclear accident. Hulot was invited to a televised interview on the
France Inter show
7/9 by Bruno Duvic. Before the first round of the primary, some polls put Hulot ahead of
Eva Joly, but he finally finished second with 40.22%, behind Joly with 49.75%. Hulot lost during the second round and Joly became the Europe Ecologie-Les Verts candidate. For the
French presidential election of 2012, Nicolas Hulot stated that he had voted for the
Left Front's candidate,
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, during the first round. He said he found Melenchon more efficient on environmental issues than Joly. He supported
François Hollande in the second round.
Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition On 17 May 2017, he was appointed
Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition. This is following Hulot turning down offers for ministerial positions from
Jacques Chirac,
Nicolas Sarkozy and
François Hollande's governments. On 24 June 2017, he joined
Emmanuel Macron in calling for the adoption of a
Global Pact for the Environment along with public figures such as
Laurent Fabius,
Anne Hidalgo,
Arnold Schwarzenegger, and
Ban Ki-moon. On 6 July 2017, Hulot announced the government's five-year plan to outlaw all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2040. The plan would also attempt to make France carbon-neutral by 2050. Financial incentives would be offered to people who try to look for cleaner alternatives. This followed a proposal by
Norway to ban all petrol and diesel vehicle sales by 2025. On 10 July 2017, Hulot said on
RTL Radio that France may close up to 17 nuclear reactors by 2025 in a new plan to reduce its share of nuclear power. Liberal think-tank
Institut Montaigne released a report stating that the plan to convert from nuclear energy to wind and solar will cost €217 billion by 2035. In 2016, France's
Court of Audit estimated that prolonging the lifespan of France's nuclear reactors would cost €100 billion. France currently derives 75 percent of its electricity from nuclear power. In December 2017, to combat
global warming, France adopted a law banning new
fossil fuel exploitation projects and closing current ones by 2040 in all of its territories, becoming the first country to schedule the end of
fossil fuel exploitation. On 28 August 2018, Hulot resigned as Minister of Ecology during a live interview on
France Inter radio, citing
President Emmanuel Macron's record on environmental issues and his own frustration over feeling alone in prioritising reform.
The Guardian wrote that "Hulot's departure is a major blow to Macron and calls into question the president's credibility on the environment". Nicolas Hulot received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the
University of Mons in 2019. == Assessment ==