France’s greenhouse gas emissions fell more than previously thought in 2024 and 2025, but the pace of cuts was still slower than in earlier years, revised government-commissioned figures showed on Tuesday.
Major economies have struggled to make good on their promise to reduce planet-warming emissions from fossil fuels, even as global average temperatures stay near record highs.
French emissions fell 3.0 percent in 2024, more than the previous estimate of 1.8 percent, according to Citepa, a non-profit organisation tasked by France’s ecology ministry with tallying the country’s greenhouse gas inventory.
The 2025 figure was also revised up, from 1.5 percent to 2.1 percent.
But the cuts remain lower than in previous years: emissions fell by 6.8 percent in 2022 and by 3.9 percent in 2023.
The revisions included data left out of the previous estimate in April, such as a sharp drop in 2024 emissions linked to electricity production in La Réunion, a French island off Madagascar.
Citepa also released a provisional estimate for the first three months of 2026 showing a 5.2 percent drop in emissions compared to the same period in 2025.
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The decline was mainly due to lower emissions from buildings, transport and the manufacturing industry, according to Citepa.
The non-profit said France must speed up its decarbonisation efforts in the next few years to meet its climate goals.
“From 2026, annual reductions of five to six percent will be necessary to stay on track,” it said.
France is bracing for another heatwave this week after the country endured its hottest spring on record.
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France and other European countries were already hit with a scorching early heatwave at the end of May.
“The heatwaves that are occurring earlier and earlier and becoming more intense, putting the most vulnerable at risk, are another wake-up call reminding policymakers of the need to act faster and more decisively on climate change,” Anne Bringault, programme director at the Climate Action Network of NGOs, told AFP.
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