France is still reducing its direct greenhouse gas emissions, but it is slowing down, notes the latest barometer from the Interprofessional Technical Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (Citepa). France has recorded a drop of 2.4% in its emissions since the start of 2024 – excluding carbon sinks -, compared to a drop of 6% over the same period in 2023, according to the report from the mandated body. to draw up France’s carbon footprint, published this Friday, December 27.
In detail, French greenhouse gas emissions even increased by 0.5% in the third quarter year-on-year, after a drop of 5% and 2.2% during the first two quarters of 2024. A first in three years: the last jump in emissions was so far in 2021, in a context of an abrupt restart of activity after the health crisis linked to Covid-19.
Declining results in the industry
A good student, the industry continues to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, with a decline of 1.3% in the third quarter. This decline, however, slowed down over the period: the drop in emissions from French factories was twice as significant in the previous quarter, at 2.8%.
Emissions from electrical energy production are also being reduced, thanks to “less use of fossil fuels in electricity production, with a share falling from 14% in the third quarter of 2023 to 6% for this third quarter of 2024” , specifies the report.
Building and transport in the red
Conversely, the transport sector – the leading emitter of direct emissions in France – has recorded increasing emissions in recent months. This increase is mainly driven by an increase in road traffic emissions (+1.1% over the quarter).
Worst performer in the third quarter, the building recorded an inflation of its emissions of 12%. This increase comes from “the increase in emissions associated with the heating of residential and tertiary buildings in September 2024,” points out Citepa. “While the decline in buildings was rapid, we are seeing an increase in the installation of gas boilers and the use of fuel oil, which is not good news”pointed out, for her part, the Minister of Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher at the microphone of RTL December 27. VAT on the purchase and installation of very high energy performance gas boilers will increase from 5.5% to 10% on January 1, 2025.
Objective -35% emissions in industry
The National Low Carbon Strategy (SNBC), revised in 2019, sets a carbon neutrality objective for France by 2050, with a sector-by-sector trajectory. In its current part – the second – it provides for a 35% reduction in emissions from the manufacturing industry in 2030 compared to 2015. To achieve this objective, the industry must reduce by 1.9 million tonnes of equivalent CO2 per year, according to the 2019 text.
The accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has already led to an increase in the average temperature on Earth of 1.1°C compared to the pre-industrial era, according to the latest assessment report from the Panel of Experts Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2023. In order to reduce the impacts of climate change, the Paris Climate Agreement, adopted by almost all countries in the world, sets the objective of containing climate change. ‘elevation average temperatures “well below 2°C” compared to the pre-industrial era, while continuing efforts to limit this increase to less than 1.5°C.
Degrading carbon sinks
The mixed results from Citepa do not take into account indirect emissions – linked to our consumption of imported goods and services, the production of which required the emission of GHGs abroad. For the record, France imported 360 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2023 out of the total 640 million tonnes of carbon footprint. These results also do not take into account carbon sinks in France, which are supposed to improve France’s emissions. The General Secretariat for Ecological Planning (SGPE) estimates that this absorption will reach 18 million tonnes in 2030, according to its report published at the end of May. This level is below the objectives voted in March 2023 by the European Parliament, set at 34 million tonnes for France. Main cause, the mortality rate of French trees has increased by 80% in ten years, according to the latest edition of the forest inventory established by the IGN (2023).
Source: www.usinenouvelle.com
