Over the past ten years, France has improved its environmental performance: emissions of greenhouse gases, major air pollutants, and freshwater withdrawals have shown significant improvements.
However, according to a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), further progress is needed to reduce pollution from nitrates and pesticides, improve air quality, and limit soil artificialization.
The OECD Environmental Review “applauds France’s efforts to bring about the historic climate agreement at COP21. To contribute to this, the country adopted the law on energy transition for green growth in 2015, which sets ambitious targets to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve energy efficiency, develop renewable energies, and diversify electricity production.”
The French economy is already “one of the least carbon-intensive in the OECD due to the prevalence of nuclear energy (46% of its primary energy supply in 2014) in its energy mix.”
However, “the French nuclear fleet is aging, and France is behind on its renewable energy development targets. Renewables currently account for 14.6% of final gross energy consumption, making the 2020 target of 23% difficult to achieve.”
Angel Gurría, the Secretary-General of the OECD, asserts: “France needs to set the development pathways for different energies to provide long-term visibility to investors. It is essential to uphold the commitments made in Paris, and for that, France must implement the energy transition law.”
He adds: “France should be commended for the carbon component introduced in the taxation of fossil energies.”
