“Significant progress”, but a worrying legislative delay… What to remember from the annual report of the High Council for the Climate

“The public action framework is evolving positively.” The High Council for Climate (HCC) published its sixth annual report on Thursday June 20. The body evaluates the measures taken by the government to combat global warming. The good points are visible, but with warnings about efforts to be maintained over time and intensified. Franceinfo summarizes what to remember from this document of more than 200 pages.

France is on the right trajectory to meet its objectives for 2030 (but not necessarily for 2050)

Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 5.8% in France in 2023, according to figures from Citepa, the organization which establishes each year a national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. This rhythm “gets closer for the first time” of that expected for France to reach “its 2030 climate objectives”, notes the High Council for the Climate, welcoming the “results” and “significant progress” French public climate policies.

Globally, “all sectors have respected their carbon budget”, except those of waste and carbon sinks, notes the report. Agriculture, energy, industry and construction are in the green. This is also the case for the transport sector, even if it has not respected “its cumulative carbon budget only due to the drop in emissions due to the Covid crisis”. For waste, since 2016 emissions “no longer fall and oscillate around their current level”. He “must reverse its upward trend”warns the HCC.

Despite this notable progress, “attention must now be focused on the need to stay the course of decarbonization in the duration” because “the alignment of existing policies with the achievement of the objective of carbon neutrality by 2050 is currently insufficient”. The HCC calls for “strengthen essential structural actions” to achieve this.

What levers to pull? There is still significant room for improvement in reducing emissions in the transport sector. They represent around a third of French emissions, far ahead of industry and agriculture (each at 19%). The HCC notes that a diversion of French people from their cars to travel “has not yet been observed”which is why he draws attention to the importance of supporting electric vehicles, even if they are not the silver bullet. “A long-distance mobility strategy, based on on different modes such as train and coach, would provide a framework for initiating more structural measures”also writes the independent body.

In addition to transport, the HCC recalls that the development of energy renovation of buildings or the deployment of renewable energies can act as structuring levers.

Delays of several important texts pose a problem

In order to carry out structuring and concerted actions, roadmaps are necessary. In this sense, the national low-carbon strategy (SNBC) is crucial since it is France’s overall plan to reduce its emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in 2050. Except that its third version, the SNBC-3 (also called SNBC 2030), was delayed by the government.

The same goes for the third National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (PNACC) and the third Multi-Annual Energy Program (PPE). “The delay of more than a year in the publication of the framework documents relating to energy and climate leads to timetable slippage and a lack of clarity”deplores the High Council for the Climate, which expresses “a serious concern about these delays which weaken the credibility of France’s climate policy”.

“The main uncertainties concern the low long-term visibility on the deployment of renewable energy production in addition to nuclear power, due to the delay in the development of the PPE.”

The High Council for Climate

in its 2024 annual report

These delays are regrettable because we must act in a planned manner as soon as possible in order to meet the climate objectives for 2030 and 2050. As for adaptation, it must be organized and updated as soon as possible. “to anticipate the future characteristics of a rapidly warming climate”. In fact, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. It is the continent that has warmed the fastest over the past forty years, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). ).

Ultimately, the delays in these texts, which establish reference frameworks, are problematic because they delay the protection of households and businesses in the face of the intensification of the impacts of climate change, insists the HCC.

Carbon sinks in the red

The High Council for the Climate already highlighted in its 2023 annual report the delicate situation of carbon sinks, these ecosystems which absorb CO2 present in the atmosphere. In the 2024 document, the warning becomes more insistent. The HCC notes a “very significant weakening of the forest carbon sink”which is found “weakened by climate change”. The cause: forest fires, extreme heat, drought and parasites.

“The exceptional mortality of forest ecosystems and the increase in harvesting have led to a halving of the forest carbon sink in France in ten years.”

The High Council for Climate

in its 2024 annual report

Besides the “death” of the forest carbon sink, the HCC considers that what is currently being implemented to regenerate French forests is “insufficient”. He evokes a “urgent need for a forest renewal plan” and point “a particularly significant delay in this sector”.

Since the 19th century, the Earth’s average temperature has warmed by 1.1°C. Scientists have established with certainty that this increase is due to human activities, which consume fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). This warming, unprecedented in its speed, threatens the future of our societies and biodiversity. But solutions – renewable energies, sobriety, reduced meat consumption – exist. Discover our answers to your questions about the climate crisis.