Industrial GHG emissions

GHG emissions in manufacturing and construction in the EU-27

Note: the emissions from each sector include the emissions associated with energy usage and from industrial processes.
Source: EEA, 2022

GHG emissions in the manufacturing and construction industries in France

Note: the emissions from each sector include the emissions associated with energy usage and from industrial processes.
Source: EEA, 2022

GHG emissions intensity in the manufacturing and construction industries in France

Note: the emissions are divided by the added value of manufacturing and construction industries.
Sources: SDES, based on Insee, 2021; Citepa, Secten, 2022

In the EU and in France, GHG emissions from manufacturing industry (including industrial processes) come mainly from sectors producing CO2 intensive commodities such as metallurgy, chemicals or non-metallic minerals manufacturing (cement, lime, glass...). These three sub-sectors accounted for 73.6% of manufacturing and construction emissions in 2020 in France, and 69.8% at the EU level.

Between 1990 and 2020, emissions from industry fell sharply in the EU (-46.2%) and in France (-50.9%), with all the major industrial sectors declining. While the economic crisis of 2008-2009 and 2020 played a role, particularly in the metallurgy sector, most of the emission reductions were due to process improvements and energy efficiency gains. For example, in the chemical sector, emissions have decreased by 67.9% in France between 1990 and 2020, thanks in particular to a drastic reduction in N2O emissions (-97.3%) linked to the production of adipic and nitric acids.