France’s greenhouse gas emissions fell more than expected in 2024 and 2025, but the pace must more than double to meet 2030 targets
Revised CITEPA data shows French greenhouse gas emissions dropped 3.0% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025, better than earlier estimates, but the country must roughly double that rate to hit its 2030 goals.
Revised emissions figures
France’s emissions of greenhouse gases fell 3.0% in 2024 and 2.1% in 2025, according to updated numbers released on 16 June by CITEPA, the national emissions monitoring body. Those figures are notably better than the previous estimates of 1.8% and 1.5% drops. The revision incorporates data that had been omitted from earlier calculations, such as a steep reduction in emissions linked to electricity production on La Réunion in 2024.
Slowing momentum, rising ambition
Despite the upward revision, the tempo of cuts is decelerating. Annual declines of 6.8% in 2022 and 3.9% in 2023 have been succeeded by progressively smaller reductions. The country’s 3rd National Low-Carbon Strategy (SNBC 3) demands annual cuts of 5–6% starting in 2026 to remain on track for 2030. That implies a pace more than double the 2025 result.
- 2022
- -6.8 %
- 2023
- -3.9 %
- 2024
- -3 %
- 2025
- -2.1 %
- Q1 2026 (year-on-year)
- -5.2 %
- Target pace (2026–2030)
- -5.5 %
A promising start to 2026, with caveats
A first estimate for the first quarter of 2026 shows a 5.2% year-on-year drop, driven mainly by lower emissions from buildings, transport and manufacturing. However, the figure does not account for carbon sinks such as forests and soils, which are absorbing less CO₂ every year. Gross emissions figures, which exclude these natural offsets, are therefore the focus of the new data.
The path to 2030
The CITEPA report warns that France must accelerate decarbonisation sharply if it is to meet the SNBC 3 trajectory.
She added that it is not only vital for the climate but also for economic sovereignty, reducing dependence on massively imported oil and gas.The increasingly early and intense heatwaves, which put the most vulnerable at risk, are a fresh alarm bell reminding public decision-makers of the need to act faster and harder on climate.
