What France plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions

How many nuclear, wind turbines and solar panels in the French energy mix? How many electric cars? How to adapt to repeated floods? After months of delay and a week before the start of COP29 in Baku, France presented its roadmaps for energy and climate this Monday, November 4. And confirmed its objective of reducing its gross greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 compared to 1990, announced the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

To achieve this, the share of fossils (oil, gas, etc.) will increase in final consumption from 60% in 2022 to 42% in 2030, according to the Multi-Annual Energy Program (PPE), the roadmap for French energy policy. over the next ten years, and the National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC), which confirm the launch of a program to build new generation nuclear reactors (EPR2) and a strong increase in renewable energy capacities. France has thus confirmed its objective of installing 1.5 GW of additional onshore wind power each year, “i.e. maintaining the current rate of development”. This rate would allow the current fleet to be doubled by 2035, to 40 GW of installed power compared to 21 GW in 2022.

During this presentation, the government also set two objectives for the automobile industry: the sale of two thirds of electric cars and 15% of electric cars in the French vehicle fleet by the end of the decade, compared to 2.2 % at the start of 2024. A challenge, while in October, sales of electric cars represented 15% of the total in France, down year-on-year.

To achieve its climate objectives, France will also have to “renovate 400,000 individual houses and 200,000 collective housing units each year on average by 2030”. The building sector, which has lowered its CO emissions₂ by 5.5% between July 2023 and June 2024, should in total reduce its emissions to 35 million tonnes of CO equivalent₂ per year in 2030 compared to 62 Mt in 2022 and 93 Mt in 1990, the reference year, to achieve national objectives, indicate the modeling documents presented Monday by sector of activity.

But here again, the government could have to face its contradictions, after having announced the reduction in the budget for energy renovation aid in 2025, from 4 to 2.5 billion euros.

The government will now launch the public consultation, as provided for by law, of the Multi-Annual Energy Program (PPE) and the National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC). They will be available for consultation until December 15. Initially promised in the summer of 2023, the final presentation of the PPE should finally take place “by the end of the first quarter of 2025”, specified the ministry.