While annual emissions increased by 8% in energy and 2% in transport, they fell by 8% in manufacturing industry and construction, and fell by 15% in the residential/tertiary sector.
Greenhouse gas emissions, responsible for global warming, fell slightly in France last year. “According to these pre-estimates, emissions resumed their downward trajectory in 2022 after the rebound observed in 2021″, reported Monday, April 3 Citepa, organization mandated to carry out the French inventory of emissions. It estimates 2022 emissions at 408 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, 10 million tonnes or 2.5% less than the previous year.
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“We are seeing a return to the interannual decline in emissions with the end of the post-Covid-19 rebound effect”, comments the Citepa. In 2021, thanks to the post-pandemic economic recovery, emissions had indeed recorded a sharp increase of 6.4% compared to 2020, a year marked by a drop due to the paralysis of the economy linked to Covid. -19.
A rise in energy and transport
By sector of activity, however, the picture is mixed. Thus, annual emissions have increased by 8% in energy in 2022, and by 2% in transport. On the other hand, they fell by 8% in manufacturing industry and construction, and fell by 15% in the residential/tertiary sector. The government has welcomed a trend which it says reflects “the effects of [sa] climate policy in recent months”. “This is in particular the result of the sobriety plan and the mobilization”commented the Minister for Energy Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “In the coming months, I will carry out an upcoming energy-climate program, which will set even more ambitious objectives as there is still a long way to go”she added.
Indeed, the current trend is out of step with the decrease necessary for France to meet its objective of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. According to the High Council for the Climate, to achieve these objectives, the country should double the rate of decline in its emissions, to around 16 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent (-4.7%) per year over the period 2022-2030. In addition, Anne Bringault, program coordinator at the Réseau Action Climat (RAC), estimated that the declines recorded in 2022 “are a bit misleading” : residential, in particular, has “Many benefited from very mild temperatures over the last part of the year, that does not mean that it would happen again”she noted.