France’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions remained virtually unchanged in the first half of the year, struggling to fall for good with an increase in the energy sector due to the shutdown of nuclear reactors, according to official figures released Thursday.
“GHG emissions for the first six months of 2022 are almost stable compared to those of the first six months of 2021 (-0.6% difference over the six months), in total all sectors excluding carbon sinks,” says Citepa, the organization mandated to carry out the French emissions inventory.
These are provisional estimates at this stage, he warns. But they do not bode well, as France has committed to reducing its emissions by 40% by 2030, an ambition that must be strengthened to take into account new European objectives (-55%).
In detail, the different sectors of activity have recorded very contrasting developments.
The energy production sector has thus seen a marked increase of 7.6% over the half-year, and this “in connection with the many shutdowns of nuclear power plants in 2022″, emphasizes Citepa.
France is currently facing the unavailability of half of its nuclear power plants due to scheduled maintenance or problems with micro-cracks that appeared last winter. As a result, nuclear power generation is expected to reach 280 TWh in 2022, a historic low.
To produce its electricity, the country has had recourse to gas-fired power plants and, to a much lesser extent, to coal-fired power plants. These means of production emit CO2, unlike nuclear power.
The transport sector also saw its emissions increase over the period (+7.0%), “with two opposing factors that may have come into competition, the post-Covid 2020 rebound in activity and the energy crisis,” notes Citepa.
Conversely, the buildings sector (-12.5%) and the manufacturing and construction industry (-5.2%) saw their emissions fall, a trend for which Citepa mentions the energy crisis but also the milder weather, which has an effect on heating.
