Transport, building, agriculture, industry… France presented this Monday, May 22 its plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. No sector is immune to this plan, which involves everyone mobilizing to try to curb the acceleration of global warming.
This “action plan” was unveiled at 3 p.m. by Elisabeth Borne before the National Council for Ecological Transition (CNTE), an advisory body bringing together civil society actors on these subjects (NGOs, unions, employers, parliamentarians, etc.) . “From now on, the consequences of climate change are massive and visible,” explained the Prime Minister, referring to episodes of drought and forest fires. “Everyone has fully and concretely measured the risks and effects of climate change.”
France intends to reduce its emissions by 50% in 2030 compared to 1990 levels, in accordance with European commitments. “To achieve our objectives in 2030, we must again double the rate of reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions”, underlined the Prime Minister.
The country, which emitted 408 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent last year, is aiming for 270 million in 2030. Until now, France was aiming for -40% emissions by 2030, compared to 1990. , France is at -25%. Technically, the reduction of “net” emissions, including the additional carbon absorbed by forests and soils (carbon sinks), should reach -55% in 2030, i.e. the threshold figure set by Brussels in its “Fit for 55”.
Companies particularly involved
To achieve this, the plan mobilizes all the levers deemed “credible”, with objectives set sector by sector (industry, transport, building, agriculture, energy, waste, etc.). Transport, the leading source of emissions in France (about a third of the total), and housing (18% of emissions, residential and tertiary combined) have the greatest margins for progress.
“The effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will be carried by everyone, in line with the emissions achieved, the capacities and the means of each”, declared Elisabeth Borne. “In total, half of the effort will be made by companies, especially large companies, a quarter by the State and communities and the last quarter by households”, said Elisabeth Borne.
The government was indeed seeking a form of fairness with regard to the immense efforts to be made, which have a cost. A report commissioned from economist Jean Pisani-Ferry by the Prime Minister concludes on Monday that the massive investments necessary for the climate transition will slow growth and increase public debt.
“No time to waste”
“We must all act and act quickly, we have no time to lose for the ecological transition”, also affirmed Elisabeth Borne. The year 2022 has been the hottest ever recorded in France since 1900. While the effects of climate change are accelerating in the world, France must also launch its new adaptation strategy on Tuesday May 23 in order to face a warming that could reach 4 degrees by the end of the century.
“If all the States of the world do not step up their efforts to further reduce their emissions, we are heading towards a warming of +2.8 and +3.2 degrees in 2100 on average at the global level, which corresponds to +4 degrees for France because Europe is warming up faster,” explained in the Journal du Dimanche (JDD) the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, based on the latest work by IPCC experts.
“We must assume to prepare our country for a change in temperatures around 4 degrees. This is not climatic defeatism, it is lucidity”, also affirmed Christophe Béchu.