State policies to combat climate change: the example of France

France has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% between 1990 and 2030 and, with the Energy and Climate Bill adopted in 2019, to achieving carbon neutrality in 2050 by dividing emissions by a factor of more than six compared to 1990. The 2030 target will be revised in 2023, as part of the law provided for in Article L. 100-1A of the Energy Code, in order to be consistent with the new European 2030 target of -55% net.

The revised National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC), adopted by decree in April 2020, includes the objective of carbon neutrality. The SNBC provides guidelines for implementing the transition to a low-carbon economy in all sectors of activity, reducing emissions throughout the country, and more generally the carbon footprint of France.

These guidelines have been translated into legislation covering all sectors that emit GHGs (Hydrocarbons Act in 2017, Energy and Climate Act in 2019, Mobility Orientation Act in 2019, Anti-Waste Act for a Circular Economy in 2020, Act to Combat Climate Disruption and Strengthen Resilience to its Effects in 2021, etc.).

Carbon budgets, which are caps on GHG emissions in the national territory, define the target trajectory of emissions reduction by successive five-year periods, in line with the objective of carbon neutrality in 2050.

National carbon budgets

Average annual emissions excluding LULUCF (in Mt CO2 eq)	2015 (Historical emissions achieved)	2nd carbon budget (2019-2023)	3rd carbon budget (2024-2028)	4th carbon budget (2029-2033)
All sectors combined	458	421	358	299

Source: Decree No. 2020-457 of April 21, 2020 on national carbon budgets and the national low-carbon strategy. A technical adjustment was made in July 2022. This leads to slight changes in the sectoral distribution (between - 2and + 3Mt CO2 eqdepending on the sector), with almost no impact on the total budget.

The multiannual energy plan (MEP) for the period 2019-2028, also adopted by decree in April 2020, establishes the priorities for action by the public authorities for the management of all forms of energy, consistent with the SNBC.

To ensure compliance with its commitments and limit deviations from the trajectory, France has strengthened its climate policy governance with the creation in 2019 of the High Council for Climate (HCC). Its main mission is to evaluate the implementation of the SNBC and compliance with the trajectory, and to alert in case of deviation.

In addition, the General Secretariat for Ecological Planning, created in 2022 and placed under the Prime Minister, is responsible for coordinating the development of national strategies for climate, energy, biodiversity and the circular economy. It ensures the proper implementation of the commitments made by all ministries in environmental matters.

Comparison of emissions to carbon budgets

In Mt CO2 eqper year

	1st carbon budget 2015-2018*	Realized emissions 2015-2018	Gap	2nd carbon budget 2019-2023*	Realized emissions 2019-2021	Gap
Transportation	128	138	8%	129	125	-3%
Use of residential/services buildings and activities	79	87	11%	77	74	-4%
Agriculture	85	87	2%	80	81	2%
Manufacturing and construction	79	80	1%	75	77	2%
Energy industry	55	50	-10%	48	43	-9%
Centralized waste treatment	15	15	-2%	12	15	23%
Total excluding LULUCF	441	457	3 %	421	415	-1%

* 2015-2018 carbon budget adopted in 2015, adjusted in 2019 to reflect changes in greenhouse gas emissions accounting; revised 2019-2023 carbon budget adopted in 2020.
Note: the sectoral breakdown of emissions is based on a specific national inventory format (Secten). It may differ from that of the previous sections, which is based on an inventory format that allows for international comparisons. Emissions data for 2021 are provisional.
Sources: Citepa, Secten 2022; DGEC

GHG emissions in France over the period 2015-2018 exceeded the budget defined by the first version of the SNBC (2015) by 3%, mainly due to overruns in the transport and residential and services sectors. Emissions over the period 2019-2021 are below the average annual level of the 2019-2023 budget, the latter having been revised upwards in the revised SNBC.

Climate change investments in France

Note: The scope of the 2022 edition of The Climate Finance Overview has been revised from previous editions and is not comparable. Changes in sources, methodology and scope lead to revised results for the entire period covered by the study.
Source: I4CE, The Climate Finance Overview, 2022 edition

The The Climate Finance Overview lists climate-friendly investment spending in France. 84 billion in climate-friendly investments have been identified for 2021. After a slight drop in 2020, they increased by 27% over one year due to the effects of the economic recovery, increased public funding and regulatory measures. Since 2011, climate investments have increased by 79%. This sharp increase is due in particular to investments in low-carbon vehicles: multiplied by 46 since 2011, they are responsible for 38% of the total increase in climate investments. Energy-efficient building renovation accounted for 22% of the total increase in investments (+68% since 2011).

Climate investments in France by sector

Source: I4CE, Panorama of climate finance, 2022 edition

The Climate Finance Overview covers three sectors: buildings, transport and energy production. In 2021, France has allocated nearly 23 billion euros to the energy performance of new buildings and nearly 20 billion euros to the energy renovation of housing. Next comes transportation, with €14 billion allocated to low-carbon vehicles and €13 billion to modal shift infrastructure. Investments in renewable energies are approaching 10 billion euros, while nearly 5 billion euros have been allocated to the development and extension of nuclear power.

The State budget and its environmental impact: the "green budgeting" approach

For the third year, the French government has included a report on the environmental impact of its budget, also known as the "green budget" , in its 2023 budget bill. This report, which analyzes all the government's budgetary appropriations and tax expenditures, makes it possible to qualify the expenditures whose impact is favorable, neutral or unfavorable on six major environmental dimensions, taken from the European taxonomy.

Spending on the environment will represent almost €40 billion in 2023, including support for energy renovation (€2.5 billion in direct aid and €2 billion in reduced VAT) and for the transition of the vehicle fleet (€1.3 billion), maintenance and upkeep of the rail network (€2.7 billion), and support for investment and innovation through France 2030 (€1.5 billion) and the stimulus plan (€3.6 billion).

Conversely, unfavorable expenditures are structurally around €10 billion. This is either tax expenditure (€7.1 billion), corresponding to tax reductions on fossil fuels and tax measures in favor of new housing for the part that generates land artificialisation, or public support for energy production (generally carbon-based) in areas not interconnected to the metropolitan network. This expenditure also covers the exceptional price caps adopted to limit the increase in gas and electricity prices for consumers, which are considered to be unfavorable to the climate, in that they support energy consumption.

Adaptation strategy in France

In light of the conclusions of the 4th IPCC synthesis report published in 2007, the programming bill for the implementation of the "Grenelle Environment", passed on August 3, 2009, provided for the preparation of a National Climate Change Adaptation Plan (PNACC) for the various sectors of activity by 2011. Adaptation now appears to be an essential complement to the mitigation actions already underway.

After a first PNACC covering the period 2011-2015, a second PNACC has been developed around six priorities: governance, prevention and resilience, economic sectors, knowledge and information, nature and environment, and international. It aims to implement from 2018 to 2023 the actions necessary to adapt the territories of metropolitan and overseas France to regional climate change in line with the long-term objective of the Paris Agreement.

For more information on NCCP-2, see the Climate Change Adaptation Resource Center: www.adaptation-changement-climatique.gouv.fr

THE DISSEMINATION OF TERRITORIAL CLIMATE-AIR-ENERGY PLANS IN AUGUST 2022

Source: Ministry of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion

Since 2015, the law on the New Territorial Organization of the Republic (NOTRe) has made territorial climate-air-energy plans (PCAET) mandatory for local authorities with more than 20,000inhabitants. These territorial projects include a diagnosis of the vulnerability of the inter-municipal territory to climate change; a strategy and quantified objectives; a program of actions; and a monitoring and evaluation system.

In August 2022, 44% of public establishments of intermunicipal cooperation (EPCI) with more than 20,000 inhabitants had adopted their PCAET and 95% had launched the process. In total, more than 840 local authorities have launched the development of a PCAET, including 125 EPCIs with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants that have committed to a voluntary approach.